All the Deadly Sins
by Gabe
Summary: UPDATED Murder. Deceit. Revenge. Blackmail. Greed. When you're young, when you're rich, and when you're powerful, you'll stop at nothing to keep what you have. And everyone else will stop at nothing to take it away. Warning, Rated R.
1. Background Information

I've been reading Friends fanfiction for a long time, and I've never come across a fanfic with the same kind of concept as this. (That doesn't mean one doesn't exist though.) That doesn't mean one doesn't exist though. Anyway, this fanfic is the tale of 13 young, sexy, powerful stock brokers in New York City. It's based around the original six members of the gang, plus a bunch of characters that were guest stars on the show that are main characters in this also. This fic is Friends + Sex in the City + Cruel Intentions + Scream. It's been a lot of fun to write, and I hope it's just as fun to read. For the sake of clarity, this chapter is all just background information about the characters in the setting. It will become very clear that my knowledge of the New York Stock Exchange is very limited, but it's not real important so it doesn't matter.

Also for the sake of clarity, I'm going to provide a character list here, with the characters names from Friends and the actor that played them on the show, since a lot of them were minor guest roles. Also, some of the characters (Jill, Cassie, even Ross) were related to each other in the show. Their last names have been changed for this AU fic because in it, they're not related. Here's the character list, in no particular order.

Chandler Bing Matthew Perry

Ross Stevens David Schwimmer

Rachel Green Jennifer Aniston

Monica Gellar Courteney Cox Arquette

Joey Tribbiani Matt LeBlanc

Phoebe Buffay Lisa Kudrow

Emily Waltham Helen Baxendale

Cassie Campbell Denise Richards

Will Colbert Brad Pitt

Susan Bunch Jessica Hecht

Carol Parker Jane Sibbel

Jill Christensen Reese Witherspoon

Susie Moss Julia Roberts

Richard Burke Tom Selleck

Paul Stevens Bruce Willis

Pete Becker Jon Favrea

EricaLaningham Anna Faris 

The New York Stock Exchange: It looked nice and peaceful in the morning, when some overweight CEO or celebrity turned entrepreneur rang the opening bell so that their faces could be shown on the CNN stock updates, but once the cameras turned off, it was nothing short of a war zone. Millions of dollars were made and lost everyday on its floor. Some people's lives were saved and others' lives were ruined. But no matter how bad the loss or how big the gain; a select few always walked away winners. The brokers. Commission was a lovely concept.

Every broker inside the building was required to possess certain character traits. Greed, desire, plus the willingness to bend, and if need be, break all of the rules.

In the center of the stock exchange was the pit, where all the money was made and lost. But deep in the back of the building were several break rooms where those who wanted to could escape the noise and insanity of the pit. The room had everything. Each room had a word processor, tables, and plenty of pens so that a last minute deal was never hard to finalize. There were coffee machines and coke machines to quench anyone's thirst, and there were countless snack machines that made sure people could survive the long hours without leaving the building.

Of course, it was NYSE policy that all the rooms are open to anyone who wanted to use them. But the very last room, the room farthest way from the pit, the room most secluded from the chaos and the madness, the one room with it's own restroom, room 124, or as it was later renamed by it's occupants, room 469, was unofficially reserved. The same 12 brokers occupied it everyday. When they weren't in the pit, making, never losing, millions of dollars, they were in room 469 celebrating their victories.

They were the combined trading staffs of Paul Stevens Trading and Burke Brokers Incorporated, and they were the twelve sexiest people to step foot on the trading floor every day of the workweek. To everyone else in the building, they were known as The Assassins. They would steal your clients, sleep with your spouse, and spill coffee on your favorite suit all in the same day. They only answered to the almighty dollar. No one else.

No one dared enter room 469, not even the janitors who cleaned the building at night. It was Assassin territory. And the unwritten rule stated that no one trespassed on Assassin territory, not unless they had a death wish. Not all of the Assassins got along with each other. But they dealt with each other, because of their command bond, their common loves. Money, power, and parties.

Paul Stevens, owner of Paul Stevens Trading, or PST, lived in a mansion on the coast of Costa Rica. He never left it. He stayed there, living the high life of sun, beer, and women. He entrusted his billion-dollar business to his six brokers in New York City. They were six of the best…they were six of the Assassins.

Chandler Bing, the richest, most powerful, and most moral of all the Assassins, was the leader of the PST team. Just like all the other Assassins, he was in late 20s, and failure was never an option to him. Under him in the PST ranks was his girlfriend of a year, Susie Moss. She was an attractive redhead who had spent her whole life around stocks. Her father and mother were both brokers, and by the time she was 17 she was already being hit up for stock tips. She was born to play the game.

Also a part of the team were Chandler's two best friends, Ross Stevens and Joey Tribbiani. Ross was the son of the owner, Paul Stevens, and he too had spent all his life near the pit. There were only two reasons he wasn't running the company. One, Chandler had more experience, and two, Ross just didn't care. He was earning just as much money, was having just as much fun, and was doing half the work. It was a nice life he led. Joey Tribbiani was the third of PST's trio of attractive young men. Not the brightest of the bunch, he understood how to operate in the war zone. His IQ might not have been high, but his bank balance sure was. Joey partied just as much as his friends, but a portion of his life was secret. Neither Chandler nor Ross had figured out what Joey Tribbiani was mixed up in.

Rounding out the PST team were two women of completely opposite natures. The first was Emily Waltham, a native of London, England. At a very young age a vacationing Paul Stevens discovered her talents and she was sent to NYC to train under the CEO himself. She very quickly became one of the top traders in the NYSE. She was all about the business, the illegal and the under the table type of trading never went through her desk. She was clean. The other was Jill Christensen, a seductive, powerful, greedy woman who stepped on many people on her way to the top. To others she was considered pure evil, to the Assassins, she was just another broker. A perfect fit.

Richard Burke cared a lot about his money. He was constantly on the lookout for new talent, for new blood to add to the stable of his gifted young traders. The more talented human beings under his control, the more money he made. And to him, life was all about the money. Burke was never in the same town for long. He would spend a week in Houston on a scouting trip, then ten days in the Philippines on vacation, followed by a day in NYC to make sure everything was in order and then another vacation to the ski resorts of Switzerland.

And Richard Burke loved the ladies. He caught constant criticism over the fact that his brokers were all women.

In charge of BBI in Richard's absence was the ruthless, limitless, incredibly beautiful Rachel Green. She had no inhibitions about using her looks and/or body to get what she wanted. And that's why she was the best. The only thing millionaires craved more than money was sex. And although she never actually slept them, she had no shame in leading them on long enough for them to sign the proper papers. She ran a tight ship, if someone didn't perform, they were gone. Richard Burke never questioned her judgement, he knew just how good she was.

Cleaning up any of the messes Rachel might have left behind was Monica Gellar. Just like PST's Emily Waltham, Monica was all about the business. She was Rachel's right hand woman, but not by choice. She loved the stock market, and she enjoyed the game. And she would do whatever it took to remain a player, even if it meant being Rachel Green's lap dog.

Cassie Campbell was the third member of BBI's top triumvarate. She was treacherous and vengeful, and hardly ever honest. She would do whatever it took to earn the dollars, and then do whatever it took to cover up her tracks. She would break the rules, but she would never admit it. Countless people had taken falls for her crimes. She seemed to be immune to the guilt.

Phoebe Buffay was the most outgoing of all the Assassins. She was funny, she was loud, and she was always seen at NYC's top parties. She was the epitome of a social diva. She loved to be on everyone's A List, and she was. A party just wasn't a party without Phoebe. But even she, the most popular of the Assassins, had secrets and lies that people would be shocked to hear.

The duo of Carol Parker and Susan Bunch rounded out the BBI stable. The two were best friends, and frequently closed out deals together. One was never seen about town without the other, causing some rumors to spread about their sexual orientation. Everyone guessed about it, but no one really cared. Whether they were two hot straight girls, or two hot lesbians didn't matter to anyone. They were Assassin quality, pure and simple.

Rarely was blood removed or added to the Assassins. The crew had been the same for years, and it didn't seem as if any changes were going to be made, at least not by choice. But in the NYSE, jobs are lost and people disappear without consequence.

It was all a part of the game. And the game was a war.

So here's the background information, the plot will get underway in the next chapter. This was just stuff I thought you all of you needed to know to fully enjoy the story. Murder, blackmail, deceit, and mystery do follow. Will love be able to overcome so many obstacles? We'll all find out in the following chapters.


	2. Death of an Assassin

****

Now that you have all the background information, here's the first chapter. I hope you all like it, as it's a little bit different for me.

It was the dead of night, 4:30 AM, but Joey Tribbiani had only got into his bed a few minutes earlier.

He was almost asleep, when a voice caught his attention. "Joey! Come on! I need it. I want it." Rachel Green made her voice as seductive as possible, "You're the only man that can give it." 

Joey smiled and turned in his bed. He didn't know how she had gotten into his apartment, much less his bed, but at the time he didn't care. This was the moment he had been dreaming about for years. "Yeah baby." Joey uttered the words and let that trademark grin slide across his lips. It didn't leave his face as he watched Rachel crawl into his bed and straddle his body.

His eyes widened as her hands dropped to the hem of her shirt. His mind raced a mile a minute as he realized he was about to fulfil his greatest fantasy. He watched as the shirt slowly revealed her stomach. His eyes fell over her belly button, and he convinced himself it was the sexiest one he had ever seen. But, as the shirt slowly rose, Rachel slowly began to fade. After a moment, Joey no longer felt the pressure of her body pressed against his. The image of her lifting up her shirt started to fade away. "No! No! No!" After a moment, she was gone, and Joey didn't see anything more of her body than he had seen when they went to the beach.

His agony was interrupted by the sound of an alarm clock. Joey groaned and sat up in bed. The moment he had been dreaming about for years…he was dreaming about again.

******

Chandler Bing walked with his friend Joey down the back hallway of the NYSE. It was lunch hour, and the pit was practically empty. Traders flocked into the break rooms, desperately seeking refreshment before heading back out for a few more hours of hell. They flocked to all the rooms except 469. It was reserved.

Joey shook his head, "I'm telling you, it was so real. It's like she was right there with me." He'd had the same dream before, and Chandler had heard all the details more than once. Joey could bed any girl in the building except Rachel Green. It drove him insane, while simultaneously fueling his desire for her. "She wanted me," Joey nodded.

"Joe, during any of this dream, did you happen to remember the complete and utter hatred Rachel Green has for you?" Chandler had spent countless hours trying to convince Joey to just stop trying to court Rachel. It was never going to happen. She hated him, despised him, and loathed him. No one was quite sure why she hated him, but from the first day they met he was immediately on her bad side.

"Just shut up Chandler." Chandler couldn't help at his friend's frustration. He was sure Joey would never learn. They casually strolled into room 469, ignoring the glares from the various brokers in the surrounding rooms. They weren't surprised to find Ross at one of the back tables reading the New York Times. The comic section. "Hey Ross." Joey managed to mumble out as he immediately turned towards the coffee machine.

Ross glanced up at Joey, and then showed Chandler a confused look as he joined him at his table. "What's the matter with him?" 

He smirked, and grabbed his own favorite section of the newspaper, the sports page. He didn't need the stock section; he had all the numbers memorized. "He's just come down with another case of Rachel syndrome." Ross laughed and went back to reading his paper. He needed to relax after his big morning. A quarter of a million dollars had already been added to his bank account earlier in the day, and if things went well in the afternoon he could pull in double that.

The loud giggling of three girls who waltzed into room 469 interrupted Ross and Chandler's conversation. Susie Moss, Emily Waltham, and Jill Christensen were obviously happy about something. Chandler turned in his chair, and smiled at the loud giggle of his girlfriend. He found it to be absolutely adorable. "Well you three look happy? Another big day for our PST team?"

Susie tried to contain her giggling as she slid comfortably into her boyfriend's lap while Emily and Jill both found their own seats. "We just made two million dollars." Susie busted out laughing again, unable to contain the sheer joy she was feeling…two million dollars in a half day, not bad at all.

Joey's eyes widened as he sat his coffee down on the table to keep from spilling it. "What did you three do?"

Emily jumped in to tell the story, "Well, we just spent the last four hours in the company of Mr. Donald Silver…" Her English accent articulated off her lips. She sounded classy and she sounded experienced…she sounded like a real businesswoman.

"The pharmaceutical buff?" Ross asked, discarding his newspaper. Suddenly Beetle Bailey just wasn't that important anymore. He thought he had been having a good day, but the three girls at his table had just brought in more than double what he had. 

Emily nodded, "Exactly. And after several hours of talking about his portfolio and his future, we got him talking about selling all the stock he owned and moving to the Bahamas. At first, he was very apprehensive…"

Jill smiled and interrupted, "But then I stepped in with my undeniable charm…"

Susie interrupted her, "And you're half-unbuttoned blouse…"

Jill playfully smacked the side of her arm and continued with her story. "Yes, and that, and by lunch time he had signed the papers. Mr. Silver will be selling every single piece of stock he owns. Which amounts to roughly 21 million dollars worth of shares in the medical and pharmaceutical business section."

Chandler whistled and shook his head, "And at ten percent, you ladies brought in a little over two million dollars. Wow." They made a lot of money, no question about it, but bringing in six figures in one day was hard to do with all six of them combined. The girls had just won a major victory. Paul Stevens was going to be happy. "Between you three and Ross it's been a very successful morning for PST."

"Not as good as our morning," Rachel smiled as she strolled into room 469, Monica trailing along behind her, carrying a heavy stack of papers. She slammed them down on one of the tables and sighed; happy to relieved of the heavy load. "BBI has just finalized a deal to handle all the stock transfers in the amazon.com buyout. You can add a few million dollars to our paychecks." She smiled and walked to the vending machine to order one of her trademark diet cokes.

Chandler turned wide-eyed to Joey. "I thought we were getting that account." Joey shrunk back in his chair. It had been his responsibility to seal the deal with the Amazon people, but when he heard that Rachel was also after the account, he couldn't bring himself to take it away from her.

"I was trying Chandler, but they just didn't want us." Chandler slammed his fist down on the table in a rare angry outburst. He had been eyeing that account for almost a year, and he was more than a little angry that they didn't get it. He wouldn't blame Joey though, Chandler always felt like if he really wanted something he would go after it himself, and this time he didn't, he let Joey do the work.

He glanced down at his watch, and saw that it was almost 1:30. "Lunch is almost over. Let's get back to work." 

*********

It had been a successful day for both firms, but the day was over, and the sun was setting. The NYC nightlife was about to come alive, and those attractive, rich, and influential young traders were on everyone's list. There wasn't a club or party in NYC that they couldn't get into. 

Inside the lavish Hilton Hotel in NYC, Dimension Pictures was throwing an after party to follow up it's the premiere of "The Matrix Reloaded" downtown. Chandler, Susie, Ross, and Emily decided to skip the flick, but they were present at the after party. Whenever they were asked about the film, they gave the simple response, "It was everything I expected."

Chandler took another drink of his champagne and glanced around the room. "I thought all of us were going to be here tonight. I don't see Jill or Joey anywhere." 

Susie wrapped her arm around Chandler's and looked around the room. She was constantly on Chandler's arm, or holding his hand, or giving him a kiss. She knew she had caught a good one when they started dating, and she wasn't going to let another woman even think about having him. She was still working on getting an engagement ring from him, but because of his fear or commitment she knew it was probably still a long way away. Chandler was sweet, he was funny, and he was sensitive, not to mention, rich, powerful, and extremely attractive. Her mother had already approved of him. "No one from BBI is here either. I wonder if there's another big party that we forgot about."

"Doubtful," Ross said while taking a drink of his wine. "It's Tuesday night, there are rarely any big shindigs on Tuesday. This is the only thing going on tonight, I'm positive. We'd know about anything else." Even the suggestion that a party was happening without him annoyed Ross Stevens. He was all about the social scene. He loved hanging out with his friends, mingling with the other rich and famous debutantes, and just plain having fun. He loved his life.

Emily loved the elegance of parties. She wasn't about the drinks, the bathing in her own power in success, she loved the dresses, the jewelry, the conversing with important people about important things like the environment, gun control, and animal rights. She spotted someone familiar by the door, "Well look right there." Joey Tribbiani was heading about the front door with two girls on his arms, one was Jill from their team, and the other was Phoebe Buffay, BBI member and good friend to all of them. "Looks like he has plans for the night."

Chandler laughed, "Well, I guess he just didn't want to hang out with us." He watched as his best friend left the party and smiled at how those two beautiful women were acting so friendly on his arms. Chandler was sure Joey would be forgetting about Rachel in no time. The easily identifiable ringing of his cell phone interrupted Chandler's thoughts. His ring was different than everyone else's, it was The Rembrandts "I'll Be There For You," a song that only he enjoyed. His pals said it was too friendly a song for their tastes.

"Hello?" He spoke into the phone. His friends looked over his facial reactions as he talked to whoever it was on the other side of the line. They could tell it was serious by the narrowing of his eyebrows and his lack of answers that were more than one word. After another few moments he said goodbye and hung up the phone. He nodded at Ross; "It was your dad. Apparently we still have a shot at the Amazon buyout. I have to run to the office."

Susie frowned. The party was over. "Do you want us to come with you?"

"Nah. You guys stay here, have fun. I'll be back in an hour, if not less." Chandler tipped down his head to kiss his girlfriend on the cheek. With a smile and nod he was gone, heading towards the door so that he could try to earn them all a few extra million dollars.

**********

It had been two hours since Chandler had gone, and the party was starting to wind down. Emily, Ross, and Susie sat outside the front doors of the Hilton, debating what to do. Susie spoke up, "Look guys, I only live two blocks from here. I'm just gonna walk home. Chandler's probably just been held up doing some paper work." 

"Are you sure you'll be ok?" Ross wasn't too thrilled about the idea of letting his best friend's girlfriend walk home by herself. 

"I'll be fine. It's a great neighborhood, don't worry about it." Susie gave them both a reassuring smile, and then turned to be on her way before either of them could offer up any more objections. It was an uptown neighborhood and she was a big girl…a big girl who had taken self defense classes three months before, and was dying to use what she had learned.

"Do you think she'll be ok walking home by herself?" Emily asked, more than slightly worried about her friend.

"I think she'll be alright. I don't think anyone would dare mess with Miss Susie Moss." The two PST traders began their slow, casual walk in the opposite direction of Susie. They talked about work, the weather, and the Amazon transfer…all the things they had in common. 

"Guys!" Emily and Ross turned around to see one of their team members, Jill, walking towards them very quickly. "Hey! Where are you guys headed to?"

"Um, we're just heading home. Weren't you just with Joey and Phoebe?" Ross really didn't care what had happened, he was happy just to have her around. He tried to hide it, but his thing for Jill was pretty clear to everyone.

"Oh no we just walked outside and waited for cabs together. It was taking forever for me to get one so I just decided to walk."

"Well, you're welcome to join us." Emily smiled and began walking again.

***********

Susie Moss was a little worried about her boyfriend. When he said he would only be an hour, 99 percent of the time he would back within an hour. That was just the nature of Chandler Bing. Her eyes looked over the street she was walking down, noting how dead it seemed to be. She couldn't see a car coming in either direction, and there wasn't anyone in sight. Not until she saw something that caused her jaw to drop.

"Phoebe!" She screamed as she looked across the street. Near to the entrance of an alleyway, she could see her good friend desperately attempting to fight off a masked attacker. A gloved hand was over her mouth and pulling her into the alleyway, and out Susie's sight. Her first instinct was to search for her cell phone, but as she dug through her purse, she remembered that she had given it to Chandler. He always kept both of their cell phones in his pockets when she was wearing a formal dress. 

She had no more time to think about it. Without paying any attention to the road, she ran across the street towards her friend. 

The sound of a horn caused her to jump six inches off the ground. She landed on both of her feet but struggled for a moment to keep her balance. When she was finally able to check and see what car had honked at her, it was too late.

The sound of screeching tires was followed up by a deafening scream. The thud that came afterward could only have been one thing.

PST had just lost a member, and Chandler Bing had just lost his girlfriend.

****

There's the first chapter, and now the mystery has begun. Who killed Susie? What's happening to Phoebe? What was keeping Chandler so long? Don't get too excited for the answers…they're a long way away. Lol. Hope you guys enjoyed. Drop a review and let me know.


	3. This Fateful Night

****

It's been awhile, I know. But the voices are back in my head, telling me what to write. And you can't write without the voices. If you try to force a story, it's going to suck, plain and simple. You have to feel what you're writing. You have to see the story unfolding in your brain before you ever get it down onto paper, or in this case, a computer. Forcing it doesn't work. But, this story is back. And all the twists and turns are clear in my head, and I can't wait to take you along for the ride. I hope you enjoy this. 

"I can't believe we stole a car!" Monica shifted nervously in the backseat. She didn't want to be apart of their fun, she wanted to be at her home, safe in her bed, watching the syndicated version of some cheesy short lived sitcom from the nineties. Instead she was stuck in the backseat of a sports car that cost a half million bucks and didn't belong to her. Rachel and Cassie only giggled from their places in the front seats. Monica groaned in frustration, "Do you know what's going to happen if we get caught?" 

"Relax Monica! Live a little!" Cassie rolled her eyes at their worrywart of a friend. "It's ok to break some rules every once in awhile. Life isn't meant to be lived by the book." She reached down to the car's radio and flipped it on. "I love this song!" She cranked up the volume, testing the quality of the car's speakers. 

Rachel smiled and yelled over the music, "Me too!" They both began to shout the lyrics over the booming music, dancing in their seats and giggling. "You're everywhere to me!" Monica curled up in the backseat, hoping and praying that it would all just be over soon. The joyride ended quicker than she had expected.

A honk was heard, the brakes squealed, and the girls up front screamed…a loud thump was heard in front of their car. Monica shot up and looked out the windshield. "Did we hit something?" Neither Cassie nor Rachel said anything, which inspired Monica to open her door and rush out of the car. Rachel and Cassie quickly followed, and they were all rendered breathless by the sight of Susie Moss lying in front of their car. Her body didn't seem to have an ounce of life left in it.

"Oh my god! Susie!" Monica moved towards her limp body, desperately wanting to help her out, but Cassie's arms closed around her before she could reach her. Monica's eyes widened as she looked back at Cassie. "Let me go! We have to help her!" Monica struggled against Cassie's firm grip, but she couldn't overpower her friend. "What are you doing?"

Cassie looked to Rachel, awaiting her instructions. She would think of something to get them out of trouble. She always did. Rachel finally tore her eyes off the body in front of their stolen car. "She's dead. You can't save her Monica." 

"Well we have to try!" Monica once again made a lunge toward Susie's lifeless body, but Cassie's grip only tightened around her form. Rachel moved carefully around Susie's body toward Cassie, her hands out as if she wanted something. "Give me your shirt."

Cassie's eyes widened. "Rachel there's a dead body in front our car! If you want me naked you're going to have to wait until we get back home!" Monica looked back and forth between them in a daze of confusion. Rachel's eyes narrowed with her impatience, letting Cassie know that she wasn't playing around. "Fine…" Cassie pushed Monica out of her way, and Rachel grabbed tightly onto her arm to make sure she didn't go near Susie's limp figure. Cassie quickly removed her small, stylish, dark blue sleeveless V-neck and handed it to Rachel, still unsure of why she wanted it.

Rachel took it and let go of Monica, leaving Cassie to guard her for a few moments. She walked toward the car, and crawled quickly into its driver's seat. Using the shirt Cassie gave her, she began to roughly wipe down the steering wheel and dashboard. She worked diligently on the door handles, and any other pieces of the car that one of them might have touched. Knowing she was short on time, Rachel moved quickly, doing the best she could to eliminate any trace of them being in the car. 

She kept the shirt over her hand and closed the door, rushing quickly back toward her two friends. "That's the best I can do. Let's get out of here." The three girls began running, as fast as they could, leaving behind the mess they made. They were about to turn a corner, and get off that fateful street. When a short, desperate female scream filled the air. They all stopped and looked backward toward Susie, who was still lying lifeless on the pavement. 

None of them were sure where the sound had come from, but Rachel knew they didn't have the time or the luxury to stick around and find out. "Come on. We have to get out of here." And once again they began running, disappearing into the night, running away from the crime scene they created.

***************

Jill had her arm wrapped tightly around Ross' bicep, snuggling close to his body, shamelessly flirting with a man she knew had feelings for her. Emily was obviously uncomfortable with their closeness. She had worked with Jill long enough to know that she could never be in a healthy relationship with a man. She would never treat one right. She loved her work too much to settle down with anyone. And she knew that's what Ross wanted from Jill. She knew Ross didn't see her as just another fuck, he saw her as a future for him.

The conversation between Emily and the two of them seemed to be forced at best. Ross was lost in a daze just walking beside Jill. It was amazing how such a party man could be tamed by one girl's touch. Jill and Emily found they had little to talk about outside of work issues. They were two very different people. 

Emily was relieved to find her apartment building coming up on their right. She wasn't sure she could fake anymore smiles. "Well, this is my stop. I'll see you both in the morning. Goodnight." 

Ross and Jill both said their goodbye to Emily and waited until she was safely inside her building before they began to walk away. As soon as she gone, the aura around their conversation began to ease. Although Emily was a friend and member of the Assassins, she was considered by most to be thoroughly uptight, and their conversations and actions were somewhat more reserved when she was around. Once she was gone though, neither Ross nor Jill had any reservations about showing their true colors. 

Ross was first to break the post-Emily silence, "So, where exactly is your apartment? Is it far?" Ross glanced over to the blonde beauty on his arm. She was quite possibly the hottest creature he had ever laid eyes on. He wanted her bad.

"Why?" She grinned from ear to ear, showing off her pearly white teeth and turning up the charm. Men were just too easy to play. "Do you plan on escorting me home?"

"I was thinking about it." He laughed slightly, perfectly aware of the flirting that was going on. There was some obvious chemistry between them. "Is that a problem?" He pulled her a little bit closer. If things kept progressing at this pace, he'd have her naked within the hour.

"Well, kind of." She let the smile vanish and decided to play him for a few seconds. She barely kept from bursting out laughing as the frown formed on his lips. She had crushed his hopes in only three words. She let him suffer for another second and then spoke again. "Because I was hoping the two of us would just head back to your place."

His smile quickly returned. The girl was much more of a slut than he had originally thought she was, and that was just fine with him. He nodded his head slightly and replied, "I think we can arrange that." He looked down the sidewalk and checked the street sign they were about to pass. He was ecstatic to find that there were only two more blocks to his apartment. It was shaping up to be a pretty good night.

The rest of the walk to his apartment was made in almost complete silence. Jill's hands had begun to roam around Ross' body, and he wasn't going to do anything that was going to distract her from that, including talking. As they approached the entrance to his apartment, Ross was surprised to find a man outside the locked front door. Ross didn't recognize him as one of his neighbors, and was a little worried that he was trying to break into his building. As they got closer, Ross could see that he had a key in the door, and rationalized that he must be new to the building, since it took all new occupants at least a week to master the tricky little lock.

"Need some help?" Ross called out as they stepped up to the doorway. Jill's attention immediately switched from Ross to the stranger. He was tall, blonde, and all kinds of gorgeous. He really made her consider dumping Ross for the night and joining him instead. 

The stranger laughed and stepped away from the door. "Yeah, I just moved in, and this thing is a pain in the ass." He moved out of the way so that Ross could handle the lock. "I'm Will Colbert. I just moved into 23." He extended his hand toward Ross.

Ross popped open the door and then turned to shake the man's hand. "I'm Ross." He motioned toward Jill beside him. "And this is Jill."

Will shook Ross' hand and gave Jill a friendly nod and smile. Jill almost melted. "It's a pleasure to meet you both." 

Jill couldn't help but size him up once again. The man was the most attractive thing she had ever seen. She stood silently by and stared as Ross and Will engaged in the standard neighbor small talk. Finally, after what seemed like an hour of waiting and staring, Jill moved to whisper in Ross' ear. She let her tongue flick across the sensitive flesh before she quietly remarked, "If you plan on having sex with me tonight…say goodnight."

Ross didn't waste a second. He looked up at Will and nodded. "Goodnight."

**************

Chandler Bing had fallen asleep in room 469. He had spent all night on the phone, working into the wee hours of the morning, trying desperately to win over the Amazon.com account. It spawned both good news and bad news. The bad news was that he wouldn't make it back to the party as fast as he had promised Susie he would. The good news was that his hard work had paid off, and the Amazon account was being transferred over to Chandler's firm, PST. Chandler was sure that Rachel Green and the other BBI members would be pissed, but he really didn't care. All was fair when it came to money. 

Ross Stevens and Joey Tribbiani walked through the NYSE with their usual demeanor of confidence and arrogance. Usually, they would completely ignore everything and everyone around them while on their trek toward 469, but today things were a little different. The place was literally buzzing with conversation, and the word 'assassin' was flowing off everyone's lips. It was clear to both Ross and Joey that something big was up. They tried their best to ignore it, and continue on as normal.

Ross cleared his throat and looked to Joey. "So…you were telling me about some plan to get Rachel in bed?"

Joey nodded his head, the mention of Rachel completely erasing any distraction that the buzz might have caused him. "Yeah, and I'm telling you man, this plan is full proof." Joey was grinning ear to ear just thinking about it.

"Really? Full proof, huh? Do I get to know what this super plan is?" Ross was quite interested in hearing was Joey's newest scheme would be. His plans were like the plots for horrible Saturday morning sitcoms. He could have sworn that most of them had come from episodes of Saved by the Bell.

"Nope. Sorry buddy, this one is top secret." Joey smiled and looked over at Ross, who was smiling at well. Joey felt a twinge of sadness when he realized that was the last time Ross would be smiling for a while. Things in their lives were about to get crazy. Joey knew that for sure. How he knew that was an entirely different story…

As they approached the Assassin room, they were shocked to find it crowded with people who didn't belong there. NYPD officers were scattered throughout the room, asking people questions and taking notes. Ross and Joey were the last of the group to arrive. Everyone else was scattered throughout the room, answering the questions being posed to them by various police officers. 

After they entered, they saw Cassie at the table to their immediate left. The officer that was interviewing her slowly stood and thanked her for her time, then he walked away to report his findings to the lead investigator. Ross took this opportunity to figure out what in the hell was happening. "Cassie." He whispered toward her, not wanting to catch the attention of any law enforcement agents. She turned toward him, her face a cloud of confusion. Ross continued, "What's going on?"

"Susie was killed last night." She monotonously replied. Cassie was quite the actress. She had to seem distressed by the news, but also not too distressed. She was an Assassin after all. And a cold-hearted bitch on top of that.

"What?" Ross had heard her perfectly. But he was still in complete disbelief. Joey did his best to looked shock by the news. But just like Cassie, he wasn't.

Cassie nodded sympathetically. "That's not all either. They think Phoebe did it." 

This surprised even Joey, as his eyebrows raised in surprise. He wondered if Chandler had found out about all of this yet, and soon he had his answer. Across the room, in the back corner, Joey saw Chandler Bing sitting by himself. His cheeks weren't wet and his eyes weren't red - he hadn't cried. Joey hadn't expected him to. Rarely were his emotions obvious. Chandler Bing kept himself in check, and gave nothing away. A good poker face helped in his line of business. He just sat there in the back of the room, staring straight ahead, a blank expression on his face. If not for the occasional movement of his eyebrows, he would have thought Chandler was dead.

But Chandler Bing was far from dead. His mind was working at a furious pace, planning his course of action. Some people were in for some serious pain. The only thing worse than an Assassin…was an Assassin seeking revenge.

****

There you have it. I hope you liked it, and I hope you picked up on some of the more subtle hunts in the story. The surprises are only going to keep coming. I'll get the new chapter out ASAP. Read and review people, let me know you're still interested in this one.


	4. New Blood

****

First, I just want to say thanks to everyone who emailed me these last few days. I've been overwhelmed with the response that my return to fanfiction.net has received. It is truly amazing, and I thank each and every one of you from the bottom of my heart for the kind words. 

But, I also received two rather negative emails that disturbed me quite a bit. Two people accused me of stealing this fic idea from a work called "Greed." Before today I had never heard of this fic, but I had heard of the author, whom I think is incredibly talented and very good at what she does. My grief in this matter is not with her, I'm actually quite the fan. 

My problem is with these people who seem to think that this fic is a rip off. Well, I will now kindly point you toward chapter 1 of the fic called "Greed", where, at the bottom, you can see that the author even acknowledges that this fic came first. (Which, she didn't have to do, and I greatly appreciate. That shows an incredible amount of class. So this chapter is dedicated to you. J Lol. ) Anyway, so, this fic is not a rip. So don't get mad at me for saying that it was "original" in the first chapter, which was published forever ago. Anyway, now that my rant is done, enjoy the following chapter.

Phoebe Buffay lied motionless in her jail cell, clad only in a pair of gym shorts and an oversized University of Kentucky sweatshirt. The clothes were given to her by the NYPD, since she was naked when she was found. She had tried to stay up and continue yelling for her lawyer, but she no longer had the energy. Finally, she decided to call it a night, and drifted off to sleep…

It was dark outside and the street they were standing on was all but abandoned. The party they had left was only a ten-minute walk away, but judging by the time, it was probably already over. It took Phoebe a minute to remember that she had left her car back near the party, so she would have to walk back there and retrieve it before she could do home. After calculating what she was going to do with the rest of her night, she turned to the girl beside her, Jill, and smiled. "That was pretty tiring."

Jill nodded her head, it definitely looked like it had taken a lot out of her. "It looked like it. But it also looked like a lot of fun." She gave Phoebe a sly little wink, letting her know that she couldn't hide the fact that she had enjoyed the activity she had just participated in. 

Phoebe let a sigh escape her lips before shrugging her shoulders. "Well, it's a nice arrangement we have here. Everybody wins." She checked her watch one more time and then glanced around the street they were standing on. Even though it was practically abandoned, she didn't like just standing around outside at night, especially not in New York City. "So what are you going to do now? I've got to head back to the Hilton and get my car."

Jill debated her options for a minute, experiencing everything she had tonight really got her in the mood to party, but she figured it was probably better in the overall scheme of things if she just got herself home to bed. If she really, really needed to have some fun…well, that was what her battery operated pal was for. "I think I'm just gonna head home. I don't live far from here."

Phoebe nodded her head understandingly, even though she was thoroughly disappointed by the decision. She still wanted to go out and have some fun, and she definitely didn't want to go walking back by herself. Phoebe sucked it up and decided not to let Jill in on her fear of walking back alone. Phoebe was an Assassin after all, she couldn't just let her fears hang out there for everyone to see. 

After a few more friendly words, the girls parted ways and walked off in opposite directions. Phoebe fell into a casual stroll as she followed the exact same path she had taken to get away from the party in the first place. Her mind wandered off as she walked, going over the business she accomplished today and the things she had to take care of tomorrow. 

After what seemed like hours, her thoughts were interrupted by a peculiar sound. As Phoebe walked down the dimly lit sidewalk, it seemed as if the sounds of her steps had begun to echo. She instantly realized that someone was walking behind her. Trying not to look suspicious or scared, she slowly turned her head over her right shoulder to see who was behind her. Before anyone came into sight, she felt a gloved hand reach around her body and clamp down over her mouth. 

Alert filled her instantaneously. She struggled against the attacker she couldn't see, flailing her body in each and every direction, trying to break from his grip. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get his hand off of her mouth, and until she did that, screaming was useless. After several seconds of struggling, real fear began to kick in. Fear that she wasn't going to win this fight. Fear that she was going to be kidnapped. Fear that she was going to die.

But, when things seemed to be their darkest, Phoebe felt one last burst of hope. She heard someone screaming her name. The voice sounded familiar, but in her extremely panicked state, Phoebe couldn't discern who it was. She felt her tired body being dragged backward down what she thought to be an alley. She still couldn't see who had screamed for her, but she remained hopeful that they were coming to help. Then, she heard a new sound - the sound of screeching tires. Before she could try to figure out what was happening back out on the road, Phoebe caught sight of a fist flying rapidly toward her face. She tried to move, but it was no use, the gloved hand was heading right for her left temple. Once it connected, her world went black…

Phoebe's eyes began to flutter open, but instead of finding herself in the alleyway, she found herself back in the jail cell they had thrown her in only hours before. It finally dawned on her that she had been dreaming. The events of only hours before were haunting her. Phoebe had no doubt that she would be dreaming about that fateful night for a long time. She sighed and sat up on her very uncomfortable cell bed, and tried once again to figure out exactly what happened.

*********

It was one of those rare few days when Richard Burke was actually in New York City. Usually, he was off scouting or vacationing, but he had stopped by New York to introduce his newest hire to Rachel Green, the leader of his brokerage. Richard was tired of the jokes and criticism about his all-female staff, so he finally went out and found himself a talented young man to join his team. Originally, his plan was to take his newest recruit, introduce him to Rachel, throw him into the pit, and then fly out for Tahiti by nightfall. But, after receiving the news that one of his brokers was being charged with murder, he figured he'd be staying in the city a little longer than expected.

It was all a lot to think about, and to get through it all, he was going to have to take it one step at a time. With that in mind, he took a deep breath, cleared his head, and stepped out of his limousine. Normally, he would immediately charge into the NYSE, but this time he had to stand and wait for his new broker, Will Colbert, to exit the limo as well. After Will stepped out, Richard began his general-like march through the crowded stock exchange. Everyone in the building knew who he was. They knew he was the captain Assassin, they knew he was all business, and they all knew that getting in his way would only serve to piss him off. 

Will followed just a step behind him, letting him clear the way. Will was often a confident guy, if you looked like he did, you would be too, but he was feeling very unconfident about joining the BBI team just hours after so much shit had hit the fan. He had tried to argue this point to Richard, but it fell upon deaf ears. As they approached room 469, the room he had heard so much about, he figured one last shot at making his case wouldn't hurt anything. "You know, I still don't feel right about being here so soon after we…"

Before he cold finish, Richard Burke's abrupt halt and deadly glare cut him off. Will cleared his throat and apologized. "Sorry. I meant so soon after everything has happened." He had been warned repeatedly to watch his mouth. He couldn't let any of their secrets slip. At first, he had thought it wouldn't be a big deal. But it was becoming increasingly clear to him that being an Assassin was not something he should take lightly, and that when Richard Burke tells you to keep something secret, you never mention it again.

Richard felt slightly guilty about throwing his young protégé into the fray so soon after the two of them had conducted their…well, he liked to call them experiments. Police officers liked to call them felonies. He genuinely liked Will. He saw great potential in the kid - more potential than he had seen in Rachel Green when he first found her. Will Colbert would be the broker he needed to lure in those few, but important, female CEOs and investors. "William, just do as I've told you. Keep your mouth shut and work hard. You'll like these people, they're your kind of people. Just relax, there's no better time for your introduction than now." 

Will nodded his consent, even though he disagreed with everything his boss was saying to him. There was no use in arguing with him, it was not a battle he was going to win. If there was anything Will knew about the backstabbing life of being an Assassin, it was that you should always pick your battles wisely. Only fight the ones you can win.

****

Ten of them were gathered inside room 469, the PST members waiting for the opening bell to ring, the BBI members waiting for the arrival of their boss, Richard Burke, who had scheduled a meeting for them all at nine. Joey, Susan, and Carol were all sitting at the room's front-most table, talking about the events of the last twenty-four hours in very hushed voices. It was the talk of the NYSE. An Assassin had been killed, one of their own was suspected of the crime…it was just too juicy for the normal folk not to gossip about.

Were the Assassins self-destructing, destroying each other from the inside? Or was someone finally bringing the war to the Assassins, killing one and then framing another? There was virtually no talk of stocks inside the buildings hallowed halls, it was all about the occupants of room 469. The Assassins weren't bulletproof anymore, and the vultures were starting to circle. 

Monica and Cassie sat away from everyone else, at their own small table that fit only three. Neither of them spoke, they had nothing in common, nothing to talk about. Rachel was the only link between the two of them, and she was busy at the soda machine, ordering her diet coke. 

The other four, Chandler, Ross, Jill, and Emily, all sat at the center table, trying to piece together the puzzles of the mystery that surrounded them all. Ross shook his head in disbelief of the whole situation. "Phoebe is claiming she's innocent. And honestly, it's really hard for me not to believe her. I mean…its Phoebe, you know?" They all nodded. They knew the feeling.

Rachel made her way back to her table, where she sat down in between Cassie and Monica. She popped the top of her drink and took a long swig of it before looking back to her two counterparts. "Well, I've got some brand new information."

Monica was off in her own little world, and provided no reaction. Cassie however, looked up quite excitedly. She had been nothing but confused for the last few hours. She of course know that Susie was dead, she was however shocked beyond belief when she was told that Phoebe was the number one suspect. None of it added up. "What is it?"

Rachel moved her chair closer to their table and lowered her voice several levels. "The car we stole last night…it belonged to Phoebe." This got Monica's attention, soon she was leaning in close just like Rachel and Cassie. "So, they must have figured that she was driving it at the time."

"This is bad. Phoebe might seriously take the fall for this." Monica was worried about their friend and business associate. They had to do something, they couldn't let her go to jail for something that she had nothing to do with.

"Better her than us, I say." Rachel commented, her voice showing no signs of remorse. Monica looked to Cassie for some backup, but just as she expected, she was siding with Rachel. Cassie idolized Rachel way too much to go against her on something as serious as this. Monica was simply disgusted. She couldn't believe that both of them were willing to let Phoebe take the fall for their crime.

Before any other discussion could be made, Richard Burke entered the room with Will Colbert close behind. Recognition immediately flashed across the faces of Jill and Ross. It was the same man they had met the night before outside of Ross' apartment. Richard stepped into the center of the room and eyed all of its occupants. 

Richard smirked before speaking, "I wasn't really expecting a full house, but regardless, I'm glad that everyone is here. I was going to introduce my newest broker to just my girls first, but since he's an Assassin now anyway, I don't see the problem with everyone meeting him at once. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Will Colbert. BBI's newest broker, and my first male hire." He stepped out of the way so that Will could step up into everyone's view. 

Will gave a friendly smile to everyone and a friendly nod before he spoke. "Hi everybody." He saw no need for a lengthy speech. He would let his activities on the floor do the talking for him. Besides, he wasn't sure that anyone was listening. The girls were busy drooling, almost literally, and the guys looked awfully self-conscious all of the sudden. 

Richard re-took control of the conversation once he saw that Will wasn't going to speak any further. "I know that we all have a lot going on around us, but we still have work to do. We're the best in this building, and we're not going to let any unfortunate incidents slow us down. Go out there and be Assassins. Go make me and Paul some fucking money." 

As if on cue, the opening bell rang, and the ten stockbrokers all immediately headed for the door. Everyone gave a smile or a greeting to Will as they walked passed him toward the door. He would have to prove himself before he got any respect, but he was still an Assassin now, so they wouldn't be rude. 

Chandler Bing was the last of the original ten to leave the room. He had his hands buried deep in the pockets of his black dress pants, and a cocky smirk painted across his face. He stopped right in front of Will, and looked him dead in the eyes. "Come on. Let's see what you got, rookie." Chandler motioned for him to follow, and headed for the door.

Will waited for Chandler to leave before turning to his boss. "I still think it's too soon for me to be here."

Richard took a step toward his protégé and looked down at him with all too serious eyes. He was not in the mood for games. If Will was going to lose his cool, things could get ugly. "You just do what I told you. Keep your cool, and go make me some money. No one knows about last night except for us."

Will scoffed, "And Phoebe."

Richard shrugged, "True. But she's in jail, and she never saw our faces. We're going to be fine." He patted Will on the back and began to lead to the door. "Now go make me some fucking money before I fire your ass for conduct unbecoming an Assassin." 

Will took a deep breath, cracked his knuckles, flashed his new boss a smile, and headed out toward the war zone. He wasn't convinced that Richard was right, but at the moment, he had no choice but to do as he was told.

****

There you go. I hope you liked it. If you did or you didn't, feel free to drop me a review and let me know. I listen to them all. I'll update again soon. 


	5. The Interrogation

****

Here's the next chapter of All the Deadly Sins. Sorry it took so long, don't worry, I'm still updating lol. This chapter is dedicated to one of my favorite fanfic authors, SFGrl, for her very sad yet true observation that indeed, no one reads our pathetic little author's notes lol. Enjoy everyone, and take notice of the fic's new character.

Detective Pete Becker stood on the second floor of the NYSE, watching over the pit, picking out each of his suspects from the mass of brokers. The second floor was an observation floor. Unlicensed traders looking for work, company CEOs, and regular everyday observers spent hours on the second floor watching the chaos of the pit. There was something mind-numbingly entertaining about watching people make and lose millions in a matter of seconds. 

It was definitely exhilarating; Pete had to admit that, but not even the entertainment value of the pit could erase his utter disdain for stockbrokers. Detective Becker had served ten years with the NYPD, and eight of those years were spent working Wall Street. In his tour of duty he had seen more than his fair share of immoral and unethical actions from those of the broker persuasion. He loathed them completely. To Pete Becker, stockbrokers weren't human; they were their own sick, greedy, deceitful species.

The closing bell rung loudly throughout the building, and slowly but surely the mass of brokers in the pit began to wither away. Pete Becker searched through the crowds of dispersing people until his eye caught the man he was looking for, Chandler Bing. Pete had been assigned the Susie Moss murder case, and although it first seemed like a cut and dry, hit by a car murder, it was turning out to be anything but. As soon as he began to review some of the evidence, it was clear to him that there was more to the story than they all had first thought. 

He watched from his place above the pit as Chandler Bing moved in and out of groups of brokers and made his way toward the back hallways. Pete immediately deduced that he was heading for the room where he and his fellow brokers hung out, and quickly ran to stop him. He thought it would be best to stop and question him before he had any further contacts with his friends. They were all suspects, and if he was going to catch any of them lying, he was going to have to do it before they were all able to work out their stories together.

He rushed down a side set of stairs and speed walked for about fifty feet. He was able to cut off Chandler just before he headed down the hallway that led to room 469. "Chandler Bing? I'm Detective Pete Becker with the NYPD." He flashed his badge to the popular broker. "I'd like to ask you a few questions regarding the death of Susie Moss." He stood firm in the middle of the hallway, allowing no room for Chandler to pass.

Chandler took a second to think about his choices, and after deciding that he really didn't have any, shrugged his shoulder. "All right, just let me go grab my stuff." Chandler moved to go by Pete so that he could get to room 469, but Pete sidestepped so that he remained in his way. 

Before Chandler could ask the detective what the hell he was doing, Pete answered. "Actually sir, I'd prefer to talk to you before you go back to your private room. Perhaps we could just use one of these extra break rooms. I promise not to take much of your time." 

Chandler didn't like the abruptness of the detective, but he couldn't think of any good reasons to decline his requests. He was still pretty much in the dark about the death of his girlfriend, and he was secretly hoping that his meeting with the detective would provide him with more information. Chandler wanted to find the killer before the police did. He knew if he found the murderer first, they would get punished the right way, his way. "All right, let's go in here."

Chandler led him to a room two doors away from where they stood. Inside it he found three young brokers sitting around the center table talking to each other. Upon their arrival, the three brokers' conversation stopped, and they all looked on in amazement, utterly surprised to have an Assassin inside their room. Chandler didn't bother to acknowledge their stares; he simply pointed toward the doorway and said, "Leave." They all sat still for a moment, not sure what to do. Chandler sighed, placed his hands on his hips, and shouted, "Now!" 

The three brokers got the picture and quickly gathered up the things. One by one they scrambled out the doorway, none of them willing to challenge one of the top Assassins. The Assassins were in a weakened state, but they certainly weren't powerless. Chandler moved to the table that had just been vacated by the three nervous brokers and motioned for the detective to sit down across from him. He glanced at his watch and noted the time while he waited for Pete to sit down and get started. It was a quarter after five, and if he were lucky, Chandler would get home before seven, just in time to catch the repeat of his favorite sitcom on the super-station.

Detective Becker marveled at the power Chandler Bing had over the other stockbrokers. It both surprised him and sickened him, because even though he didn't know Chandler, he didn't like him. He was a broker, and that was all Pete needed to make his judgement about him. He sat down across from Chandler and didn't waste anymore time getting started. "Mr. Bing, let me start off by telling you that I don't think Phoebe Buffay killed your girlfriend."

Chandler looked on wide-eyed. He had thrown that curveball at him really fast. "What?"

Pete smiled, and shook his head. "We'll get back to that." He opened up his notepad. "So tell me Mr. Bing, how long had Susie and yourself been dating?"

Chandler wasn't sure how to handle the meeting. He didn't know if he was a suspect in the case or just a vector of information for the detective. Either way, he figured the best thing to do was be honest about everything. After all, he had nothing to hide. "A little over a year."

Pete nodded his head and jotted the information down into his pocket-sized notepad. "I see." He paused for a second, forming his next question. "Did you have any plans to get married?"

"Are all the questions going to be this personal?" Chandler's voice was covered in a defensive tone. He didn't mind helping out the detective, but he didn't feel up to divulging every detail and secret of his relationship with Susie.

"Some of them," Pete replied, matter-of-factly. 

Chandler sighed and sat back in his chair. He stared at the detective for a long moment before answering. "No. I'm not exactly fearless when it comes to commitment."

Pete laughed a little, and continued writing in his notepad. He didn't look up from his writing as he asked the next question. "Mr. Bing, can you think of anyone who might have had a grudge against Susie or yourself? Anyone who would have something to gain by her death?"

Chandler laughed and leaned forward in his chair, decreasing the distance between himself and Pete. "Are you kidding? We're both Assassins, we're hated by a very large amount of people. People lose a lot of money because of us. I couldn't even begin to count the people who would love to see us all killed."

Pete nodded his head, he understood him completely. He knew that a lot of people hated brokers because he was one of those people. "What about the members of Paul Stevens Trading and Burke Brokers Incorporated? Could you think of anyone from those firms, besides Miss Buffay, who might have wanted Susie to be killed?"

Chandler was caught off guard. He knew that Susie's death was probably the result of a vengeful broker, possibly Phoebe, but this was the first time anyone had insinuated that another fellow Assassin might be responsible. "Absolutely not." He didn't elaborate any further. He found the mere thought of it to be ridiculous. The Assassins, as vicious and evil as they might be, stuck together in the end. Their power came from their unity. 

The finality in his voice caused Pete to look up from his notes. "You sound awfully sure."

"I am." Chandler stared right at the detective, silently daring him to question the validity of his statement. He was doing this detective a favor, and in return, he expected him to respect him and his friends.

"How can you be so sure about that? Up until two minutes ago, you thought Phoebe Buffay, a member of BBI, killed your friend, didn't you?" Pete raised his eyebrows questioningly.

"No, I didn't. I thought that she was the number one suspect, but I still didn't think she did it. None of us did." Chandler folded his arms across his chest. He was beginning to like the detective less and less.

"I see. And why were you all so sure that Miss Buffay did not kill Miss Moss?" Pete lowered his pen back down to his notepad; ready to write down whatever response he was given.

"Because that's just not the type of person Phoebe is. She's not like the rest of us; she's a pure soul. Even if she did hit Susie with her car, she wouldn't have left her there. She would have tried to help; she would have called 911, something. She's too good of a person not to do so."

Pete jotted down the response and then casually sat his pen down beside his pad. He placed one hand over the other on top the table and looked into Chandler's eyes for one long moment. "Phoebe Buffay isn't that great of a person, Mr. Bing."

"How would you know? You don't even know her." His stare didn't falter. No one intimidated Chandler Bing. He was the most powerful broker on Wall Street, and by simply pulling a few favors, could have anyone who dared question that eliminated quite quickly.

Pete fought back a smile. The man in front of him was incredibly cocky, but also incredibly stupid. He hadn't the slightest clue about what was going on around him. "When we brought Miss Buffay into the station, we had her take a drug test." He paused a second to let it sink in. "And she tested positive for both marijuana and cocaine." 

It was semi-shocking news. It was indeed surprising that Phoebe was doing drugs, but when he actually thought about it, it didn't seem that odd. She was rich, powerful, and successful. Like millions of actors, models, musicians and other millionaires before her, she got a little high every once in awhile. "No one said she was perfect, detective."

"True." Pete nodded his head, and contemplated how to go about the next set of questions. "Mr. Bing, you are a suspect in this case." He decided to use the direct approach. "And while I personally don't think you committed this crime, I'd still like to ask you some questions about last night."

Chandler glanced down at his watch again. It had been almost fifteen minutes since their little pow-wow had begun. "Fine, but let's try to hurry this up. All right?"

"Fair enough." Pete moved his chair a little closer to the table. "It is my understanding that you left the party before Susie did, correct?"

"That's right. I had a phone call about a potential client, so I left before everyone else did. I didn't expect it to take me all night." 

"And what time did you leave the party?" Pete studied the man across from him carefully, looking for any signs that he might be lying about the responses he was giving.

Chandler reached down into his pocket and retrieved his cell phone. After a few seconds of button pressing, he put the phone away. "I got the phone call at 10:18, so I'd guess sometime close to that." 

"And after you left the party you came straight here? You didn't make any stops along the way?" Pete already knew what the answer was. By asking around, he had pretty much already figured out what Chandler's night consisted of. Now, he just wanted to see if Chandler's story would line up with the information he had gathered.

"That's right. I came here, and I've been here ever since. I fell asleep in our private room." Chandler's patience was running thin. He was really aching to find out what the detective's point was, because at the moment, it seemed like he didn't have one.

"And do you have anyone who can verify that? Anyone who saw you here working?" Pete knew that he didn't. Chandler Bing's alibi was paper-thin. 

"No, I don't. I was the only here last night, I don't think anyone saw me." Chandler glanced back down at his watch and let out a frustrated sigh. He was going to miss his show, and that pissed him off. "Look, you said this wouldn't take long, and I'd really like to get to going. So can we finish this up?"

Pete nodded and began to gather up his things. He had strung Chandler along for as long as he was going to go. It was time to drop the bomb on him and go. "I wanted to talk to you for a reason, Mr. Bing. I don't think you killed your girlfriend, and I don't think Phoebe Buffay did either. But I do think it was one of your friends, and I'm going to find out which one. It's only a matter of time."

Chandler stood from his seat, happy that the interrogation was finally over. "I'm sure you will do your job very well, detective."

"I will." Pete moved toward the door, but stopped before exiting. "This case means a lot to me Mr. Bing, because I'm not only solving murder, I'm also solving a rape." Pete was smiling inside; he had just hooked his fish.

"A rape? What are you talking about?" Chandler took a few steps toward Pete. Finally, he was getting some juicy information.

"Yes, Phoebe Buffay was raped. We found a semen sample on her body at the scene of the crime, and her dress had blood on it that didn't belong to her." Pete shrugged his shoulders and took another step backward. "I believe her story. And I'm going to find the real killer." He completely turned and walked out the doorway, calling out as he left, "Let me know if you find out anything useful."

Pete Becker smiled as walked down the semi-crowded hallway. He knew that Chandler Bing wanted to find his girlfriend's killer, and he knew that Chandler would stop at nothing to do it. Pete was a detective; he had to play by the rules, and therefore couldn't use the means that Chandler Bing could. Now, if everything goes right, all he has to do is sit back and let Chandler lead him right to his murderer. It would be case closed, a medal of citation from the mayor, and then a promotion from his boss. 

A promotion right off of Wall Street, a place that he considered his own personal hell.

****

So there's the chapter, completely equipped with the brand new character Detective Pete Becker. As if this fic didn't have enough characters already…I can't help it; I'm a sucker for the twists and turns. Not even the good guys are good in this fic lol. Drop me a review; let me know what you liked and what you didn't. Let me know you're still reading, and are still interested.


	6. Knowledge is Power

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Here's the new chapter everyone, I hope you all enjoy it. First I wanna warn you all that this chapter is definitely Rated R, since I've spiced some things up. It's nothing NC-17 of course, but it's steamy (or at least I hope it is) none the less. Read and review, let me know what you think. Also, if anyone is interested in starting a Friends Fanfic Authors Group with me, contact me at exiledsarcasm@aol.com**. I know that some authors, just like me, need others to talk to and encourage them to keep up with their work and to help form and mold ideas. I was thinking about trying to start one with people using AOL Instant Messenger, since everyone can download it for free. If there is any interest in joining, please feel free to contact me. Here's the chapter.**

Joey Tribbiani was in a hurry. It had been a long day in the pit and he was ready to go home. The last two days had been nothing but stressful and he was eager to get in some much needed relaxation. Beer, a couch, and primetime television were waiting at his apartment.

He was carrying around a serious burden. Joey had more information than he was letting anyone know about, including the NYPD. All the mysteries of Tuesday night weren't a mystery to him. He had all the answers. He had seen it all. The only question now was what would he do with his information. Knowledge was power, especially in his line of work. Blackmail was a very powerful way of conducting business, and some people would pay very large sums of money to keep each dirty little indiscretion a secret.

Like a master chess player, Joey was going to have plan several steps ahead of his opponents. He was going to have to predict people's reactions and guess what actions they would take once they found out exactly what he knew. There was no room for error. Wall Street was a very serious place, and once you started taking people's money you had to be prepared to protect yourself. This was not a game. Once he let it be known that he had incriminating information, there would be no going back. It would be a matter of life and death - his life, his death.

He walked at a brisk pace down the dark hallway that led to room 469. The only thing he hated about having such an isolated room was the long walk you had to take to get to it. The light in the hallway brightened slightly as he approached their private room. His pace slowed to an almost halt as his eyes took notice of some curious objects on the floor. Abandoned in the middle of the hallway was a suit jacket, and not five feet from it was a piece of baby blue cloth that he quickly identified as a blouse.

He took a few cautious, quiet steps toward the entrance of their room. Sure enough, as he stood against the wall just beside the doorway, he could hear the telltale gasps and moans of two people going at it. A mischievous grin spread across his lips as he listened to the action inside their private room. He waited a few more seconds and then, not being a shy person, waltzed right into the room.

The sight in front of him made him laugh out loud. Jill was sprawled out on one of the tables, with Ross on top of her; both clad in only their undergarments. After hearing a laugh, they both quickly looked up from their groping to find Joey smiling at them, his arms folded across his chest, pieces of clothing in his hands. 

Joey tossed the jacket and blouse he had picked up in the hallway towards the two brokers on the table. "You know, if I taped this and sold it off to some of the more lonely brokers, I'd make a fortune."

Ross smirked but didn't budge from his position on the table. "Come on Joe, I know you, I know you wouldn't do that to me." Joey was extremely loyal to his friends, and not the kind of guy who would exploit them for personal gain. At least that's the kind of guy Ross thought he was…

Jill sighed and placed her arms across her semi-clothed chest, trying to cover her assets from Joey's view. "Don't be so sure Ross. He is a perverted little man." She too didn't move. She was a wild child, and not really that embarrassed by the positions she was in. She had done much more rude things in public, being seen in her underwear just wasn't that bad. The Girls Gone Wild video however…that one she would like to re-do.

Ross quirked an eyebrow and glanced down at the girl beneath him. "How would you know if he was perverted?" 

Joey grinned even wider and tilted his head questioningly. "Yes Jill, how would you know?" He knew exactly how she knew about his sexual tastes, but he also knew that she didn't want that information passed around the NYSE. His grin was from ear to ear, this was just another example of Joey's plethora of information, another example of the power he now had.

Jill exhaled a deep breath and looked up at Joey with nothing but annoyance in her eyes. "Joey, was there anything in particular that you wanted? Or are you just here to annoy the two of us?" There was a reason she didn't wait to get back to Ross' apartment to have sex. She wanted in quickly, and Joey was holding up the process.

Joey shook his head negatively. He wouldn't divulge Jill's secret yet, he would save it for a rainy day. "Nope. Just wanted to return your clothes before our champion cleaning staff came by and took them." He clasped his hands together in front of him and nodded, "You guys can continue now. Have fun." He turned around quickly and walked toward the door. He couldn't help but smile, he was in control of everything. 

***********

After the detective left, Chandler found it necessary to sit back down in the chair he had occupied just moments before. Becker had dropped quite the bombshell on him, and he needed to take a few moments to gather his thoughts. Phoebe didn't kill his girlfriend that seemed pretty clear after his discussion with Pete. Chandler never really thought that Phoebe committed the murder, but knowing for sure that she didn't was a load off of his mind. However, finding out that she was raped added a whole new level to the investigation he was about to conduct. Now he had to take revenge for two crimes, not just one.

Chandler drummed his fingers against the wooden table as considered what could be happening. He thought it very possible that someone from another brokerage was trying to wage war against the Assassins. He knew that Detective Becker thought an Assassin had committed the crime, but Chandler just couldn't see that happening. He considered it for several moments, but he could come up with no answers to that all important question - Which Assassin would kill Susie and then lie about it?

Rachel Green stared at the handsome man sitting in the middle of the dark abandoned room. She wasn't sure why he was alone, but if it were because he was still grieving, she would be sure to find a way to make him feel better. "Well you look awfully lonely in here." She smirked as his gaze darted in her direction. She strolled into the room slowly, deliberately swaying her hips in that fashion that always drove men crazy. She knew how to turn any man on, grieving or not.

Chandler was more than a little surprised to find Rachel Green around so long after the closing bell. Usually she, along with her patsies Cassie and Monica, were the first of their group to leave after every workday. He turned his chair toward her, and watched with narrow eyes as she approached. Chandler had been seduced by enough women to know when one was trying to get the attention of his southern head, and Rachel Green was definitely doing that. Unsure of why she was pouring on the sex appeal, he asked, "What's going on Rach?"

"Oh, nothing." Once she reached the table he was sitting at, she sat down on top of it, making sure that the hem of her skirt raised several inches as she did so. "I was just finishing up some business and I saw you in here all by yourself." She leaned backward and placed her weight on her arms, suggestively posing right in front the man whom lost his girlfriend just the day before. 

"Yeah, I'm just doing some thinking." He did his best to ignore her blatant advances. There was no denying she was sexy - incredibly sexy - but he knew in his brain that he wasn't ready to move on. Now, if he could only get the lower half of his body to agree with him…

"About Susie?" Rachel watched intently as Chandler nodded and looked down to the ground. She thought it was because he was sad, but he was really looking down because he knew that if he kept staring at her the wrong parts of his body were going to take over his decision making. While he continued to stare at the ground, Rachel carefully reached up and undid an extra button on her white blouse. She looked him over one more time, and as her eyes ran over his crotch she couldn't help but smile at how obvious it was that her advances were working. Men were just too easy…

Chandler knew she could sense the effect she was having on him, and it became clear that the only way to escape the situation unscathed would be to run away. "Yeah. I should probably get out of here. I've got a lot of things on my mind. A lot of things to sort through." 

Before he could begin to stand, Rachel's hands were on his shoulders and were pressing downward so that he couldn't move from his chair. "Now just wait a minute Mr. Bing." She smirked and slid off of the table so that she was standing directly in front of him. "What kind of friend would I be if I let you walk out of here without trying to cheer you up?" A devilish grin spread across her lips as she slowly sank down to her knees in front of Chandler.

Reality came crashing back in a heartbeat. Chandler Bing suddenly found himself drowning in a pool of guilt. Here he was with a beautiful, sexy girl on her knees in front of him when his girlfriend of a year wasn't even buried yet. He felt like an asshole. Quickly, he jumped out of his chair and moved away from where Rachel was kneeling. "Woah, Rach, hold a minute! As much as I really, really want to do this…or have you do that…to me…I…" He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "It's just too soon. I-I've got to go." 

Rachel stared on in awe as he hurried right out of the room. No man had ever resisted her advances before, and she found it to be quite a blow to her ego. She remained there in that same position for a long while, thinking over what had just happened. She found some comfort in the fact that he really wanted to do it, but just couldn't. It wasn't that her moves didn't work…

Rachel allowed her mind to wander off into a daydream. She'd never tell a soul, but more and more she found herself yearning to settle down. She wanted to find the right guy, ease up on her work a little bit, and allow herself to be happy. She rarely let herself think about domestication, but every time she did Chandler Bing was the guy she saw herself settling down with. The NYSE's top male and top female…they would be the ultimate couple. They would be the couple that everyone else wanted to be. Before she could dive any further into her fantasy, a voice disturbed her. 

"Wow. A woman on her knees…my favorite kind of gal." Joey Tribbiani smirked as he stared at Rachel Green, still kneeling in her compromising situation. His days just kept getting better and better. "You need a guy to come and stand in front of you? Because I will be more than willing to come…"

Rachel cut him off, "Shut up Joey!" She stood up and brushed the dirt off of her skirt and re-buttoned her blouse. She knew that Joey wanted her, and the thought made her sick to her stomach. She knew that most girls found him hot, but there was something about him that she found to be completely repulsive. "Can I help you with something or do you just want to keep staring at me?"

Joey admired her spunk, it was one of the things he found overwhelmingly attractive about her. "Actually, yeah, there was something I needed to talk to you about." He glanced down at his watch, and did some time crunching in his head before continuing, "Can you stop by my place at about nine?"

"No." Rachel scoffed. Who did he think he was? When people wanted to talk to Rachel Green about things, they came to her. They did things her way, at her place, at her time. Things in the NYSE ran by her schedule, no one else's. The only person with more pull than her was Chandler Bing.

Joey laughed and nodded his head slightly. "All right, let me say it this way." He paused and looked her right in the eyes. "Stop complaining, shut the fuck up, and come by my house at nine tonight. Okay?" Joey let his body rest against the doorway as he waited for her to react. She had no idea that she wasn't in control anymore. Dropping the bombshell on her was going to be a lot of fun…

"Fuck you Tribbiani! I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I'll tell you who I am; I'm Rachel Green! I'm the top broker in BBI, I'm the hottest chick to walk the halls of the New York Stock Exchange, I'm-"

Joey quickly cut her off, "The girl that killed Susie Moss?" 

The question silenced her very quickly. She stayed silent for a moment, staring him down, trying to calculate if he was serious or if he was bluffing. After another moment, she decided he was bluffing. He didn't have the guts to go up against Rachel Green. No one was stupid enough to go to war with her. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about Joey." 

He smirked and walked towards her, stopping just inches from her body. He leant down a little and allowed his face to become even with hers. In a hushed whisper, he told her all about the information he was sitting on. "I'm talking about you, Cassie, and Monica driving Phoebe's car. I'm talking about the stereo blasting and the brakes squealing." He paused to let it all sink in. "I'm talking about you and your friends murdering Susie Moss, and letting Phoebe take the fall for it."

Rachel looked on speechless. He really knew what had happened that night, but how? How could he possible have all of that information? Her mind was so busy asking questions she forgot to speak. This only made Joey Tribbiani smile even more. He had silenced the queen of trash talk. 

He waited another moment, and just when it seemed as if she was going to speak again, he cut her off. "My place, nine o'clock, be there. I'm not kidding." He stood still for another moment and then walked off, out of the room and down the hallway, smiling the entire time.

Joey Tribbiani was the new king of Wall Street.

****

There's the new chapter. Hope you all liked it…drop me a review and let me know what you thought. I steamed up this chapter a little bit, let me know if it worked or not. I'll update again soon, contact me if anyone is interested in the Authors group. 


	7. The Price

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Hey everyone, here's the new chapter. I hope you all like it. Just to warn you all again, this chapter is rated R for some sexual content and innuendo. I've had some responses for the author's group I spoke about, so I am in the process of developing that. Hopefully we can get it up and going soon. I think it would be beneficial to a lot of us. Anyway, read and hopefully enjoy!

Joey Tribbiani paced the floor of his New York City apartment with a look of conflict on his face. He wasn't positive if he could go through with what he had planned. He had done some low down and dirty things before, but he had never done anything like what he was about to do. He was about to blackmail a girl that he knew wanted nothing to do with him. 

He had spent every minute since he arrived home debating if he really wanted to go through with his plan. But, deep down inside, he knew he was already passed the point of no return. He couldn't go back and pretend like nothing happened. He had given someone a peek at his cards and now he was going to have to finish the hand. There would be no folding now. Rachel Green would never let him get away with it. 

A knock on the door broke Joey's concentration. With slight apprehension, he walked toward it and opened it, revealing Rachel Green to his eyes. She looked much different than she had just hours earlier. She was in her clubbing clothes, not her work clothes. Her hair was curled and hung down the sides of face passed her chin. Her shirt was white and tight, short enough on the bottom to reveal her toned and tanned stomach and low enough at the top to show off her ample breasts. Her jet black leather pants were skin tight, and Joey immediately found himself wondering how in the world she got into them. She looked sexy, and they both knew it.

It was more of a strategic move than anything else. She wasn't really planning on going out clubbing, she just knew that Joey found her attractive, and was going to use that against him. She knew that men didn't think well when they were turned on, and if she was going to beat Joey in this battle, she was going to need every edge she could get. After the bombshell he dropped on her at work, there was no doubt who had the advantage between them.

"Joey." She greeted him and stepped into his apartment uninvited. She had to do everything she could to show him that she wouldn't be pushed around, that she still had some control. She walked passed him and into his living room, stopping and turning around once she reached the center of it. "So what do you want Joey?" She folded her arms across her chest, and casually used her forearms to push her breasts up just a little bit higher. "I have plans tonight." She lied.

Joey smiled, completely aware of the game she was playing. He walked into the living room and sat down casually on his couch. She would not intimidate him. He couldn't afford to be. He stared at her for several seconds, making it completely obvious that he was checking her out. "So Rach, how does it feel to be a murderer?" 

Rachel held her gaze, she did not waver. It was obvious that Joey knew some things, more things than he should, but exactly what details he knew she was unsure of. She would try to pry as much information as possible from him before conceding that she actually committed the crime. "What exactly are you talking about Joey?"

"Oh come off it Rachel! You know damn well what I'm talking about. And if you want to keep playing dumb with me, I'll just call the cops and tell them what I know. I'm sure they will be a little more appreciative of the information that I have." He stared right back at her. It was a battle of nerves, and he knew it was one that he was going to win. She couldn't afford to try to call his bluff; the risk was too high.

Rachel thought about her next move. Should she call him out and test just how far he was willing to go? Or was she willing to admit a small defeat and find out just what his motives were. After another second of deliberation, she chose the latter. "All right, fine. What exactly do you want Joey?" 

He smiled a wicked smile that basically spoke his desires for him. "I want the same thing that I have always wanted." He stood up slowly, purposely taking his time. He walked toward her and stopped just a step in front of her. "I want you."

Her instincts kicked in and she found herself replying before thinking. "Fuck you!" She had no problem using her body for her advantage. After all, to her sex was just sex. But being forced into it by someone she hated was unacceptable. She would not let it happen, no matter what he knew. If she had to go her word against his, she would take her chances. "I'm leaving." She stormed off around him and toward the door of his apartment, not looking back at all. 

She was about to reach for the doorknob when Joey called out to her. "Rach!" He paused and watched her stop in her tracks. "You might wanna see this before you go." Joey picked up his remote control and turned toward his television. After pressing a button, the screen came to life and Rachel Green was instantly terrified by the image that it played. On his television she could see herself, Cassie, and Monica standing near Susie's body, debating what to do about her. She watched for several terror filled seconds before the television clicked off again. "There's more to it, but I've got the feeling you already know how this movie ends." 

Rachel stood in complete shock. She knew that he knew about her guilt, but she had no idea he had it on tape. Fighting someone's testimony in court was one thing, fighting an incriminating tape was completely different. She shook her head in amazement and looked down at the ground. Finally, she got up the nerve for one last attempt of getting out of it. If being aggressive didn't work, maybe pleading with him would. "Don't do this Joey. If you want money, I'll give you money. If you want power, some of my accounts, whatever, I'll give it to you. But don't force me to give you my body."

"Woah! Wait just a minute, I want to make one thing very clear. I'm not forcing you to do anything. You don't have to do this if you don't want to."

Rachel was confused. "So wait a minute, you're telling me that I don't have to do anything? I can leave here without touching you and you won't call the police and turn me in?" She knew there was no way she was hearing him correctly. There had to be some kind of catch. There was always a catch. Things were never that easy.

"I won't do a thing, I won't call a soul." He waited a moment, before delivering his knockout punch. "I won't seek out ways to hurt you, but I also won't lie for you. If someone asks me what I know about that night, I'm going to tell them. If some cop comes asking questions, I'm not going to hide any of my information. And if some lawyer puts me on the stand, I won't commit perjury."

She knew there was a catch. "Damn it Joey that's not fair! You know for a fact that eventually someone is going to come around asking questions about that night. It's inevitable!"

"Probably." Joey shrugged his shoulders and took a few steps toward where she was standing by the door. "But it's incredibly fair. Why should I do something for you when you won't do anything for me? I'm a nice guy Rach, but I'm not a charity. I don't work for free." Before she could play her money card again, he continued. "And I have all the money that I need. You know that."

Rachel had a decision to make. She could fuck him and ensure his silence or she could take her chances and hope that no one ever asked Joey what he knew about that night. She knew that the chances were slim and none and that no one would ask. All the Assassins were sure to be interrogated sooner or later. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "So it's that simple then. I fuck you and you forget everything you know about that night, and that tape and any copies disappear." 

"Close." He smirked and came even closer. "You're not going to fuck me once and walk away." He was standing a step away from her, and his hands began reaching out for her body, gripping her waist and pulling her against him. "I'll have you whenever I want. Wherever I want. However I want." His hands ran down her sides, feeling her thighs through her skintight pants. "Do we have a deal?"

Rachel stared at him with nothing but hatred and disgust in her eyes. She couldn't believe she was in this position. She tried to think of any way out, but knew there weren't any. Without moving her eyes from his, she reached down and grabbed the hem of her shirt, and began lifting it above her head. She rolled up the article of clothing and threw it across the room. She watched with contempt as Joey stared at her bare breasts. Her hands then found their way to the zipper of her pants, and they very audibly pulled it loose. She didn't bother to look down as she peeled the leather off her skin. 

She stepped out of the pants as they lay there on the ground, and kicked them away from her body. She held her arms out at her sides, as she stood there naked in front of Joey. Her voice echoed with a loathing deeper than any she had ever known before. "Is this what you wanted?"

Joey simple shook his head. He was living his fantasy.

***********

Phoebe Buffay sat alone in a dark room, wearing clothes given to her by the state, hoping that his meeting would go well. She sat at the far end of a long gray metallic table waiting for the detective in charge of her case to arrive. No one had bothered to tell her what the meeting was about, but since she knew that she was still considered the number one suspect, she figured it couldn't be good.

Detective Pete Becker entered the room slowly, making all of his moved deliberate. He let all the subtle sounds of his actions echo through the quiet room. The sound of the door closing, his steps against the tile floor, the pulling out of his chair, and the sound of his body slowly sitting down. He remained quiet and stared at Phoebe, then slowly raised his hands to the table where he clasped them together in front of him. "Good morning Miss Buffay."

"Good morning detective." She had met the man before. She knew his name was Pete Becker, but that was about it. He hadn't given her much information, no one had, and he hadn't displayed any real emotions while meeting with her. He seemed like a robot, and she found him to be impossible to read. 

He cleared his throat and then began to speak again. "Phoebe, we're going to release you. We are not going to officially charge you with a crime yet, so we can longer, by law, keep you in this facility. However, you are still a suspect in the murder of Susie Moss, and because of that, you will be faced with some restrictions on what you can do, where you can go, so on and so forth. Do you understand?"

Phoebe was ecstatic to know that she was going home, but the sound of restrictions didn't sound appealing at all. "What kind of restrictions are you talk about detective?"

"Just some standard stuff. All easy things." He paused before beginning to list some examples. "You are not allowed to leave the state of New York. You will have to obey a midnight curfew. You won't be allowed to drive for awhile." He shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing you can't work around." 

Phoebe nodded her head. She didn't like the curfew, but anything was better than being in jail. "Will I be allowed to return to work?"

"Yes," he replied. "But I strongly suggest keeping yourself out of trouble Miss Buffay. A woman in your position cannot afford any more blows to her credibility."

Phoebe sighed and ran a hand through her hair. The entire situation was a mess. How anyone could take her for a murderer, she'd never know. "All right, I've got it. Let's get me the hell out of here."

The detective smiled and stood up. "Follow me."

**************

Rachel Green considered the sunlight in her face a gift from above. It had poured in through the window of Joey's bedroom and awaken her from her slumber. He had worn her out so much the night before that she could not find the energy to get up and leave before falling asleep. But now, she was slightly re-energized and more than ready to get the hell away from Joey Tribbiani.

She crawled out of his bed and stood up on her own two feet for the first time in hours. She looked at him, sleeping peacefully, and found herself fighting the incredible urge to just kill him. Instead however, she decided to grab her clothes and dress her naked body. She wanted to leave, and she very well couldn't do that without getting dressed.

It didn't take her long to get fully clothed and out the door of his apartment. As she walked onto the street outside of his building, she asked a stranger for the time and learned it was five thirty. She would have to start getting ready for work as soon as she got home. Her body ached once it realized that it would get no more recuperating time. She would have to take her hurting form into the war zone; there was no way around it. Missing work wasn't an option.

She hailed a cab and instructed the driver to take her home. She ignored the way he stared at her and kept her gaze focused out her window. She wasn't in the mood for anymore confrontation. She just wanted to get home, get cleaned up, and do her best to forget everything that had happened. That would be useless, she knew, because it was obvious that Joey Tribbiani would never let her live it down. 

She dazed off, and was only brought out of it by the sound of the cab driver announcing their arrival. She reached into one of the skintight pockets of her pants and pulled out the only bill she could keep in the small space. She handed the driver a crisp Benjamin Franklin and stepped out of the car. "Keep the change."

She hurried inside and to the elevator. She spent the entire ride up to the nineteenth floor leaning against the wall of the contraption, conserving every drop of energy that she could. As the ding sounded and the doors opened, she pushed herself off of the wall and out toward her apartment. The lock to her door was electronic, requiring a code to enter, that way she never had to carry a key. She entered the numbers from memory and stepped inside.

It didn't take long for her sore body to find a chair. She was in pain from her head to her toes. She couldn't believe how rough Joey had been with her. The cheeks on her face were red from being slapped by his hands and other body parts of his that she would have rather not thought about. Her ass ached from the same humiliating treatment. Her legs were sore for being held so widely apart for so long. And to round out the circle of pain, her stomach ached uncontrollably, no doubt from swallowing too much of something she shouldn't have.

****

That's the chapter, I hope you all enjoyed reading it, and I hope you all had a wonderful 4th of July. Leave me a review and let me know what you thought. Were you entertained? If so, head on over to my profile page so that you can find the link to my newest story, In Conclusion. Hopefully you'll like that too. Review!


	8. The Call

Susan couldn't stop laughing. It was something only a ninth grade girl would find funny, yet she still had some kind of sick obsession with it. It was like a drug habit she couldn't kick. She spoke to herself as she wrote on the wall, "I like to take it in the ass. Call me." She laughed again, and nearly dropped her black permanent marker.

She had been doing it for weeks now. She would go to a restaurant, sneak into the men's restroom, and write something dirty on one of the stalls. Then she would write Jill's name and her phone number. Jill had been complaining about the vulgar calls for weeks. Susan didn't know how she always managed to keep a straight face.

She was almost done with her dirty little message when she heard the door fly open. She quickly picked her feet up onto the toilet and silently said thanks for having already locked the door. She waited silently on top of the porcelain throne until she heard a familiar voice begin to speak.

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Phoebe Buffay was on a mission. She had been around the NYSE long enough to know that most crimes related to the stocks went unsolved, and for the most part, uninvestigated. If she was going to clear her name, and just as importantly, find out who raped her, she was going to have to do it on her own. She was going to start with Joey and Jill. They were the last two with her that night, and she needed to know what they had told the police.

She didn't dare return to work. She decided she would wait for Jill to return home, and talk to her thin. She knew chances were Jill would return with more than a few drinks in her, and she would therefore probably be more willing to give her some information. She was sure that all the Assassins would be in full-blown survivor mode, all doing what was best in the area of self-preservation.

She sat down against the front of Jill's door and waited for her to come home. Her thoughts raced inside her head, bouncing from one subject to the next at a lightning pace. There was so much to think about, so much to consider. She was going to have to see the big picture and slowly put the pieces together if she was going to solve her mystery.

For a brief moment, it occurred to her that maybe someone was declaring war on the Assassins, but she couldn't allow it to stick. It didn't make sense, and it didn't seem possible. No one could do that. And even if they could, no one would dare.

Phoebe took a deep, calming breath and told herself to focus. She was going to have to slow her brain down a little if she was going to get anything figured out. She knew she had hours before Jill returned, so she had plenty of time to plan her moves. She whispered to herself, "Okay, Phoebe. Just start from the beginning…"

_She was laughing. Joey had just said something funny. Or was it Jill? It wasn't clear. They were talking slowly. Their bodies were moving in slow motion. Everything behind them was a blur. She could only see the three of them walking together – Joey in the middle, Jill and herself each on one of his arms. They were walking across a street, toward a park…_

_Then there was blackness. Nothing. She couldn't remember anything._

_Then a flash. Naked skin. Her naked skin. She glanced around. She was on a blanket. There were needles beside her. Several of them lay there, used and empty. There were baggies all over the place. One was still full of white powder._

_She looked downward. She saw her legs. They were parted. She saw black hair between them. A head was moving rather quickly, yet she couldn't feel a thing. She looked around, judging her surroundings. She saw Jill. She was holding something. There was a light on it…_

_A camera? Yes…it was a camera. _

_Then there was blackness. Nothing. She couldn't remember anything._

_Then a flash. Naked skin. It wasn't hers. It was a man's. It was fit, but not chiseled. It wasn't scrawny but it wasn't fat. She could hear a man grunting. A glove covered her eyes and turned her head. She felt something at her lips, pushing its way in. She was pretty sure she knew what it was. She tried to scream. She couldn't. _

_Then there was blackness. Nothing. She couldn't remember anything._

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

Richard Burke was having a very late dinner with a lovely lady. Her name was Erica, and she had just started college. She was eighteen years old, but she looked a little younger. Richard required three IDs before he believed her. They were chatting, with Richard doing most of the talking. He spoke of his penthouse and his yacht and his place upstate. Basically, he was laying out her options. Where did she want to get fucked? It really didn't matter to him.

He glanced down in mid-sentence to see his cell phone flashing. The small bar which told him who was calling flashed the name "WILL." Richard sighed, and began to stand up. "Excuse me for just one second sweetheart. This is an important business call and I just can't ignore it." He picked up the phone and brought it to his here. He didn't bother saying hello. "Hold on."

He dropped the phone to his side until he found the bathroom. He slammed the door open with the force of eight angry men. He was beginning to think he misjudged Will Colbert. The man seemed to be breaking at the seams. He thought he was an Assassin. He thought he would be able to handle the pressure. Instead, it appeared to Richard that he was breaking down.

He checked under all the stalls, making sure he saw no feet, before he brought the phone back to his ear. "What the fuck do you want Will? I'm getting sick of this really, quickly."

Will's voice came back through the speaker. "You're at Alejandro's, right? I want to come by and talk to you, just for a second. I just want to go over what happened one more time"

Richard was rapidly becoming irate. "Yes, I'm at Alejandro's, and no, you're not going to come by. I'm busy, and there's nothing to go over. Just keep your mouth shut, okay? So we raped her. Who cares? We're powerful men, Will. No one is going to know about it but us."

"And Phoebe."

"Yes, and Phoebe you fucking smartass. Now I gotta go. I have things to do. And don't you dare come by here, I'm busy." Richard hung up the phone and stuffed it in his pocket. He ran his hands over his light brown suit and checked himself out in the mirror. He was about to turn and leave the room when he thought he heard a noise. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around.

Richard bent at the waist to look under all the stalls, but he saw nothing. He paused for a moment in thought when he heard again. It was coming from the last stall. Someone was in there, he was sure of it. He quickly moved toward it, while simultaneously trying to figure out what he was going to do with the little jerk inside of it. He tried to open it, but it was locked. He took a step back and raised his foot, and in one violent motion, kicked the door open. He looked inside the stall, his face painted with confusion.

Susan looked up at Richard. "Hey boss…"

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Monica and Cassie were both tired. They had been summoned to Rachel's apartment by the lady herself and Monica especially wasn't in the mood for her company. She had relayed to them the story of Joey and hers interaction. She found it poetic in a sick sort of way. Cassie however was quick to jump to Rachel's aid and provide words of encouragement. They both spoke of vengeance.

"So let's think," Cassie was pacing across the room with Rachel. "What can we do to him? How can we get him back?"

"We can't. He has a tape. Who knows how many copies of it he has by now. Who knows who he's shown it to? We should just do what he says." Monica would never admit it, but she was having a little fun. Seeing the two of them in such utter panic gave her a little bit of pleasure. They were so evil. Their hearts were black. It was about time karma came back around and gave them a nice ass-kicking.

"So what are you saying, Monica?" Rachel was furious. "I should just keep being Joey's little sex toy? I should just do whatever he says? Whatever he wants?"

Monica shrugged her shoulders. "It's better than going to jail and having some huge bald woman make you her sex toy. At least with Joey you might get something back out of it."

"Oh I can't believe you!" Rachel flopped down on the couch next to Monica. "Think about this. Right now, it's just me. But it won't be long before he gets bored, and it will occur to him that I'm not the only one he has dirt on. You two will be next. He'll demand you just like he demanded me, and then we'll see how up for this you really are, Monica. Right now it seems simple to you, but you just wait until that loser has you naked in his bed…you'll feel differently."

"No I won't, because I'll never be in that situation." Monica looked her boss dead in the eye. "If Joey comes to me and makes the same demand he made with you, I'll say no, and I'll go to jail. I won't be forced into having sex with anyone." Monica crossed her arms across her chest.

"Oh yes you will." Rachel glared at her, and then turned to Cassie. "And so will you. Both of you will do whatever it takes to keep us out of this mess, or so help me God I will kill you myself." Rachel paused for a moment. "And believe me, I will, I'll have nothing else left to lose."

"No Rachel, I won't." Monica held her ground. She had given in to Rachel's pressure on many things, almost all of which she wasn't proud of, but on this one she wouldn't lose. She wouldn't give herself to Joey. Never. Not like that. "It's my body Rachel, and Joey's not getting in. End of story."

"Yeah. We'll see." Rachel and Monica stared at each other. They were caught, unblinking, both refusing to back down from the other. It seemed as if the silent battle of wills could go on forever.

Cassie broke the eerie silence. "We need to focus. We need to come up with a plan to handle Joey."

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Carol looked at herself in the mirror of her bathroom. The black lingerie looked fantastic in contrast to her creamy white skin. Susan was on her way over, and they had quite the wild night planned. Carol never considered herself a lesbian. In fact, the only girl she had ever been attracted to was Susan. But ever since the first time the two of them hooked up, she couldn't get enough.

Her phone rang, and she began to search the room for it. She stepped over to her nightstand, where it was slowly moving with its vibrations and glanced down at the caller ID. It was Susan. She hoped nothing was going to delay her.

She answered, "Hello." There was nothing. "Hello?" There was nothing again. Then she heard voices in the background. There were two of them, and one of them was definitely Susan's. She listened quietly and tried to figure out exactly what was going on.

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"Walk slowly, and don't try anything." Richard walked beside Susan, his hand wrapped tightly around her arm. He had told Lucille to stay put, and that he would be right back. He wasn't sure what to do. Susan was one of his girls, and part of him kept saying that it meant he could trust her to keep his secret. But Phoebe was one of his girls as well… It was a tough decision to make.

Susan walked in terror. She had to do something. She had to tell someone or get some help…something, anything. Richard was her boss, and he was an Assassin, but if he was capable of raping one of his own employees, he was probably capable of murdering them too. Susan didn't want to be a victim.

Both of them were lost in their own heads, oblivious to the people around them. They were both so concerned with their situations and one another that both of them failed to notice Will standing across the street, staring at them. He watched them, confused, as they turned the corner, and then quickly began to follow them.

The two of them made a turn into an alley. With her free hand in her pocket, Susan found her cell phone. Her finger traced over the buttons as she visualized what she was doing in her mind. She found the green talk button. She pressed it once. She knew this would bring up the menu of the people she had last called. Right before her little bathroom stopped, she had hung up with Carol. She pressed the talk button again, and prayed to the powers that be that she had done it right. If she had executed it like she thought she had, her phone would be calling Carol. Hopefully, her phone would be good enough to pick up everything that's happening.

They stopped in the middle of the dark alley. Richard let go of Susan's arm. "I'm not sure what I should do here, Susan."

Susan was barely listening. If Carol was on the other line like she hoped she was, she would need to feed her as much information as possible. "You raped Phoebe, Richard! You and…."

Before she could say more, Richard slapped her across the face. "Shut up! What if someone hears you? I don't need anyone else to find out about this." Richard stared at her as the tears began to fall from her eyes. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "This is all his fault. That fucking loser…"

"Well that's a not a nice thing to say." Four eyes shot toward the end of the alley, where Will was standing. The shock of seeing him was soon replaced by the shock of what he was holding. In his right hand was a small 9mm pistol, with a long black silencer screwed onto the barrel.

"What are you doing here? And what the fuck are you going to do with that?" Richard took a step away from Susan and towards Will. "Do you realize how many problems we have now just because you couldn't keep your fucking cool? I wonder how many people know about what we did last night because of you."

"Right now, there are four." Will smiled, and lifted his gun. With Richard so close to him, he barely had to aim. He squeezed the trigger three quick times, and after a few steps backwards, Richard Burke fell to the cold cement of the alleyway, dead. "Now three." He looked up at Susan, who was frozen in fear and shock.

She tried to plead with him. "Oh god…please don't. Please!" Will didn't respond, he merely stepped toward her, his gun held out in front of him. "This can't be it…it can't be. I can't die like – "She never finished her sentence. Five seconds and three bullets later, Susan Bunch was dead.

"Now there are two." Will threw the gun into a dumpster and walked away. No one saw a thing.

------------------------------------------------------------------

There was Richard, there was Susan, and there was someone else. A third voice, but Carol couldn't figure out who it was. The voice was male, but too far away and inaudible to distinguish. It could have been anyone. Why couldn't she figure it out! She paced across her living room. Her tears caused her makeup to run, and she couldn't sit still. Susan was dead. She was sure of it. But she had no idea what to do.

She couldn't call the police. Assassin problems were handled internally. She would have to speak with someone from inside their group, but Richard was in their group, and he was apart of it. What could she do? It was becoming increasingly clear to Carol that the Assassins were falling apart.

The unfathomable thought was rapidly becoming a probable reality.


	9. Surprise Visit

Only Phoebe was left. After Will took care of her, there wouldn't be anyone left to incriminate him. All of his problems would be solved. Will somewhat regretted killing Richard. The man had done a lot for him. He had taken him under his wing and trained him. He had given him a job in the most coveted clique on Wall Street. He had helped him discover the pleasure of dominating a woman. It really was a shame.

He felt a little bad about Susan, too. He didn't even know her. In his mind, he damned Richard for getting her involved. She had nothing to do with it. He hadn't wanted to kill her, but he couldn't let anyone who knew anything about that night remain alive. He had to cut off the trail. He couldn't let the path lead back to him. He had heard rumors about the detective on the case, Pete Becker, and everyone seemed to be in agreement that he was top notch.

Will was lost inside his head as he walked back toward his car. He paid very little attention to the things around him. He was so preoccupied; he failed to notice the sobbing young woman walking rapidly towards him. She too was lost in her own thoughts, and before either one of them noticed the other, they walked right into each other.

Will stumbled backwards and the girl fell to the ground, her wiry frame being no match for his muscular form. Will quickly moved towards her. "I'm so sorry. I'm an idiot. Let me help you up." He reached out a hand and the woman grabbed it. Without much effort, Will lifted her back to her feet and watched as she brushed some of the dirt off of her outfit. "I'm really sorry."

"Don't worry about it. It's fine." She looked at the man in front of her, and for a moment paused to take in his stunning good looks. Then she looked away from him, and her eyes began to search the faces around them.

To Will, it looked as if she was checking to see if anyone saw her fall. In reality, she was searching for Richard. He had run off without as much as saying goodbye. An awkward silence began to grow between them, so Will said the only thing that popped into his head. "I'm Will, by the way."

"I'm Erica." She did her best to put on a fake smile. "Erica Laningham." The two of them shook his hands and stood still for yet another awkward moment. "Well, thanks for helping me up, Will. I'll see you later."

Will nodded, and for a second wondered why complete strangers would use a phrase like 'see you later' when leaving. He was they would not be seeing each other later. "Okay. Bye-bye."

Will watched as she walked away and smiled to himself. She was one beautiful woman. If only Richard were still alive, they could experiment on her as well.

-------------------

Everything was happening so fast. Susan was gone. Someone murdered her. Richard raped Phoebe. She heard it with her own ears. Carol had come across a very large amount of important information very quickly. She just had to figure out what to do with it all. Who could she talk to? Who could she trust?

"Jill!" The PST beauty and fellow Assassin lived two floors down from Carol. She decided then that she would run downstairs and tell her everything that had happened…but not before she put some actually clothes on.

Carol moved as quickly as she could, removing the sexy lingerie from her body and replacing it with a simple blouse and skirt. She threw on some sandals that she kept near the door and without thinking much more about it, ran towards the elevator. She pushed the number nine and watched it light up. Leaning back against the metal wall, Carol impatiently waited for the elevator to arrive at its destination.

The doors beeped and opened, and Carol quickly exited and turned right. She took four speedy steps and then stopped dead in her tracks. Carol couldn't believe it. There she was, Phoebe Buffay, the key to this entire mystery, sitting right in front of Jill's apartment door. "Phoebe? What are you doing here?"

Phoebe looked up and was surprised to find a fellow Assassin standing in the hallway next to her. "Carol?" Phoebe began to stand up. "I'm waiting for Jill to get home. I have to talk to her about some things." Phoebe unconsciously dusted off her clothes, even though the carpet she had been sitting on was spotless. "What are you doing here?"

Carol's mind was reeling. She couldn't figure out what to do. Jill wasn't home. Should she tell Phoebe what she knew? How would Phoebe react? Would she even believe her? "I came to talk to Jill, too." What was the worst that could happen? Phoebe didn't believe her? Well then, so what? At least Carol would have it off her chest then. Maybe after coming clean to Phoebe, she would be able to clear her mind enough to worry about Susan. "I came to talk to her about you, actually."

"Me? Really?" Phoebe wasn't sure how the other Assassins were reacting to the rumors about her. Never before had she regretted her ruthless side. It had helped her make dollar after dollar, but now, it was the very thing that allowed even her closet friends to believe she was capable of killing another human being.

"Yeah." Carol took a few careful steps toward her Assassin sister. "Listen Phoebe, I just found out some very important information, and it's about you."

Phoebe's curiosity was peaked. "Well, what is it?"

"I know who raped you." Carol wanted desperately to look away, to look at anything besides Phoebe's face, but her eyes simply wouldn't let her.

"You…you do?" Phoebe took a deep breath and tried her best to remain calm. A strange mixture of boiling anger and overwhelming sadness was beginning to build inside of her. She wasn't sure if she was going to cry or if she was going to hit something.

"It was Richard Burke, my boss. But he wasn't alone, there –"

Phoebe interrupted her. "There were two of them." What little memory of it she had left was replaying itself over and over in her head.

"That's right. And I don't know who that second man is Phoebe, but I know that he killed Richard tonight. He killed Susan, too."

"Oh, my god." Phoebe was beginning to feel faint. She fought with herself to stay with Carol. She couldn't be weak right now. She had to stay strong and fight her way through it. This information was pivotal to her survival.

"Phoebe, I think he's going to come after you next. He was counting down the number of people who knew that you were raped." Carol ran a hand through her long blonde hair and then leaned against the wall near Jill's door. "And I think he might be coming for me, too. I don't know. He might know that Susan called me after she found out…I'm not sure."

"I don't know what to say." Phoebe struggled to breathe. Her mind was overloaded. Her whole situation was getting more complicated by the second, and the right thing to do was no longer clear. "I don't know what to do."

"I think we should run." Carol turned toward Phoebe. "You know? We'll just get out of here for a few days. We'll get far away from the city and we'll wait for everything to calm down around here. Everyone keeps saying how good that Detective Becker is. If we just give him some time, I'm sure he'll catch whoever is behind all of this."

Carol's words made sense to Phoebe. Maybe they should hide for awhile. Phoebe was grateful to be near someone who still had the ability to think rationally, because she was sure that at the moment she was not capable of it. "Where would we go?"

Carol paused for a few moments to think about it. "My family has a place in the Hamptons. We can go there and lie low for a bit. No one will be there. My entire family is vacationing in Boca."

"I'm not supposed to leave the state." Phoebe was surprised she remembered a detail as minute as that. With all the information swirling around her brain at rapid speeds, she could barely remember her name.

"Well, if we do this right, no one is going to know that. No one is going to know where we are." Carol had already made up her mind. With or without Phoebe, she was going to get away for awhile. She just didn't think it was safe in the city.

"Okay." Phoebe closed her eyes for a second, and tried her best to push all other things from her mind. Right now, this choice was all she wanted to think about. "Let's go to Connecticut."

------------------------------------

Monica left her meeting with Rachel and Cassie hours after it started. They went through plan after plan, idea after idea, but nothing seemed possible. There just didn't seem to be any reasonable solution to the Joey problem. Cassie had suggested killing him, but Monica had refused to be a part of any more killing. She was tired, and she had told the others that she was going home to sleep, but there was something she wanted to do first.

The guilt she felt over Susie's death was overwhelming at times. Sometimes she was fine, but other times the feeling would sneak up on her and consume her. She felt bad for Susie. She felt bad for cutting her life short, for robbing her of a million experiences and emotions. But, the truth was, she felt even worse for Chandler. He had lost the woman he loved. He was in an immense amount of pain. She never liked seeing him hurt. She had always had a thing for him.

Now, she was almost to her destination. She came upon the large and beautiful complex, and for a moment paused to take in its massive size. It was filled with condos for the rich and the extremely rich. Where else would she expect the unofficial leader of the Assassins to live?

She walked through the large revolving glass door and into the lobby. She spotted the reception desk in the middle of the room and walked toward it. There was an old man sitting beside it, a brown security outfit on, and a grumpy look on his face. He looked up at her, and without much change in demeanor, began to speak. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, my name is Monica Gellar, and I'm going to Chandler Bing's place." Monica felt somewhat self-conscious standing in front of the man. He seemed to be suspicious about everything. She felt like he was inspecting her every move.

"Is Mr. Bing expecting you?" The guard finally looked away from her, and turned his attention towards his log. He didn't recall Chandler Bing reporting any expected guests for the evening.

"No. It's sort of a surprise." Monica was nervous, but also a little annoyed by the interrogation. Why couldn't she be more like her fellow Assassins? They were confident and forceful, and no one, especially not some elderly security guard, was going to run them around in circles the way this man was now.

"Let me call him." The old man reached for the phone and punched in a number. He sat silent for a few moments as he waited for the person on the other end of the call to pick up. Finally, he spoke. "Hello, Mr. Bing?"

She listened intently as the guard spoke with Chandler. She could hear his voice echoing out from the phone, but it was too distorted to make out any words. Judging by his tone, she thought he was pretty surprised to hear that she had dropped by. The guard hung up the phone and looked up at Monica. "Take the elevator directly behind me to the twentieth floor. Mr. Bing said he will be waiting for you."

"Thank you." Monica wasted no time moving around the large circular desk and toward the elevator. She punched the up arrow and the metal doors of the elevator opened immediately. She pressed her floor and began to listen to the music that was playing over the speakers in the ceiling. Why was elevator music always so boring? Were they trying to make you sleep in the elevator? She could never quite figure it out.

It was a long ride up, and after what seemed like forever, the doors finally rolled open. As the security guard said he would be, Chandler was there waiting for her. "Monica. This is a surprise."

Monica smiled and stepped out of the elevator. "Well, it was a surprise that almost didn't happen. Your security guard doesn't take too kindly to visitors."

Chandler laughed. "Oh that's just Lloyd. He loves to be a pain in the ass. He doesn't have anything better to do. Anyway, welcome to my home." It was then that Monica noticed his place. There was no door. The elevator was his door. The entire floor belonged to him.

She looked around in awe, and suddenly understood why Lloyd downstairs was so anal about letting guests inside. "Oh my god, Chandler. This place is incredible. You could fit ten of my apartments in here."

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." Chandler led her farther inside toward the living room. It was furnished with a state of the art theatre system, and some of the most comfortable furniture known to man. Chandler loved to show off his things. "Here, have a seat on the couch. You won't believe how comfortable it is."

Monica looked at the couch and grinned. "It can't be that much different than any other couch." She took it in, and by looks alone, it wasn't that impressive. It was big and orange and it didn't seem as extravagant as the rest of his place. She walked around the side of it, and without much fanfare, sat down. She wiggled a bit, and then leaned back against its soft orange cushions. "Oh wow, I was wrong."

Chandler replied, "I told you." He walked around the couch and took a seat beside her. "I got it about a year ago. I was in this coffee house having drinks with Rachel after a meeting." Monica flinched at the sound of Rachel's name. Chandler didn't seem to notice. "So we order our drinks and we sit down on this couch, and I just fall in love with it. I've never sat on something so comfortable."

Monica's eyes lit up, "So you bought the couch from the coffee house?" She couldn't believe that someone would actually do something like that.

"Hey, it wasn't easy. This weird blonde guy who owned the place didn't want to sell it, no matter how much I offered." Chandler smirked. "And I was offering some pretty generous amounts."

"So how much did it end up costing you?" Monica was interested now. Never before had she grasped just how deep a man's obsession with his couch goes.

"In the end? Nothing. Rachel talked to the guy for like two seconds and he just gave it to me for free." Chandler laughed as he replayed the memory in his mind. "That woman sure knows how to work a man. She probably could have convinced him to give me the entire store if I wanted it."

Once again, Monica was taken back by the mention of Rachel. She didn't want to talk about or think about her boss. Too much of her life was already complicated by Rachel Green. She was a subject Monica desperately wanted to avoid whenever possible. "Yeah, she's good like that."

Chandler only nodded. Silence filled the room for a few seconds. No one seemed to have anything to say. The subject of Rachel lingered in the air. Finally, Chandler spoke. "So, anyway, what brings you by my humble abode?"

"I wanted to talk to you. I wanted to tell you how sorry I was to hear about Susie. She was great." Monica wasn't sure how Chandler would take the mention of Susie, but the need to apologize clouded her judgment.

"Thank you. You're the only person who has said anything. Well, besides Rachel" Chandler didn't have much more to say on the matter. It just wasn't something that he was ready to talk about.

Monica grimaced. Rachel just kept coming up. She wouldn't go away. "Yeah, I bet she was really anxious to make you feel better." She knew that Rachel had a thing for Chandler, and the idea of the two of them together drove her crazy. Susie she could handle. Susie was nice. Rachel was evil in a blouse.

"Yeah, she was." Chandler reflected back to their encounter at the NYSE. "I probably should have gone for it. It might have worked."

"It might have. But you deserve much better than what Rachel Green has to offer." Monica hoped that the hint wasn't too obvious.

Chandler caught the hint, and decided to play along. He wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but part of him was convinced that Monica was making a move on him. "Well there haven't exactly been a truckload of offers to consider."

"Well then…" Monica inched her body slightly closer to him, and let her open palm rest upon his thigh. "Consider this," Monica let her hand move northward as she leaned in toward him. Before he could say a word, their lips were locked together in a passionate embrace.

His body moved backwards onto the couch, and Monica's body moved on top of his. For a moment, Chandler felt guilty. Memories of Susie came rushing into his head, and they almost convinced him to stop what was happening. But then he felt her tongue in his mouth, and after that, he was lost in her.


	10. Bad Behavior

Phoebe sat in the passenger's seat of Carol's car as they sped toward her apartment. She wanted to pick up a few things before they made their escape to the Hamptons. Phoebe glanced over at Carol, who was driving with one hand and typing on her cell phone with the other.

"What are you doing?"

Carol responded without looking at Phoebe, "I'm texting my maid. I want my things ready to go when I get there. We'll just grab them and go."

Phoebe was concerned by her answer. "Should we really be telling anyone where we're going?"

Carol finished the text and dropped her phone into her purse. "Don't worry about Lucia. She barely speaks English. Plus, she doesn't know you're with me. She thinks I'm alone."

Phoebe nodded. She was in no position to complain about Carol's decisions. For now, she would have to trust her judgment and hope for the best.

It was late and the place was virtually abandoned, but Joey decided to walk the halls anyway. He thought that he might find Rachel working late in her office or hanging out in their break room. He had stopped by her place and she wasn't there. She wasn't answering her phone, either. She was obviously trying to avoid him and Joey wasn't happy about it. He planned on taking his frustration out on her body as soon as he found her.

He made the familiar turn around the corner and up ahead he could see a light on. It was the office next to his – Jill's. He walked up to it and peeked his head inside. Jill was sitting behind her desk, staring straight ahead. Joey had never seen the beautiful woman look so out of it. "Jill?"

The sound of Joey's voice startled her and she nearly fell out of her seat. "Jesus Christ, Joey. You almost gave me a fucking heart attack."

"Sorry." He entered her office and sat down in the chair opposite her desk. "What are you still doing here?"

"I don't know. I meant go home after closing but I…I just didn't. Weird, huh?" Jill was feeling the stress of the recent events. It was all a lot to handle. All of the Assassins kept secrets for a living, it was just part of the job, but never before had the secrets so directly affected their group as a whole. There was so much happening, so many things to keep straight, that for the first time in her life Jill felt like she might be losing her mind.

"Nah, I know the feeling. I went home and came back and I'm not even sure why. It seems like the world is falling apart and I haven't the slightest clue what I'm supposed to do about it." Joey was good at lying. He knew exactly what was going on and what everyone was doing. Secrets and lies were his bread and butter.

"Yeah." Jill placed her elbows on her desk and leaned forward. Her voice dropped to a near whisper and her eyebrow arched inquisitively, "Do you have anything that could help with the stress? Something to take the edge off?"

Joey thought about this for a second and then smiled. Without speaking, he reached into his jacket pocked and pulled out a baggie full of powder. He swung it back and forth in front of Jill's face like a hypnotizing watch.

"Oh God you are a life saver. That is just what I need." Jill reached out to grab the bag, but before it was in her grip Joey yanked it away.

"Come on, Jill. You know that nothing is for free. Phoebe worked hard to teach you that." Joey smirked.

Jill frowned. Indeed, it had been Phoebe who had shown her the ropes on that fateful night. Thanks to her, Jill now knew how Joey's little system worked. He didn't need money, so he didn't charge money. He asked for things that he really, really wanted instead. "Joey, I just don't know if I feel comfortable – "

"Save it," Joey interrupted her. "Save your excuses and I'll save my drugs." Joey stood up from his chair. "Anyway, I should probably go. I have to find something to do with my night."

Jill stood up quickly. "Wait!" She was torn. She really wanted that baggy full of fun, but she just wasn't sure if she was willing to pay its price. She was a fan of sex and Phoebe had sure seemed to have enjoyed Joey's moves… but still, something about the whole arrangement seemed wrong. Her inner demon and inner angel continued to debate the issue in her head. Finally, the demon won.

Jill walked around her desk and stood in front of Joey. "Tell me what you want."

Before Jill realized what was happening, Joey's hands were on her body. With force, he spun her around and then pushed against her back. All of the sudden Jill found herself bent over her own desk. She felt her skirt being pushed up onto her waist and at the moment decided that she would just bury her head in her hands and take it.

Joey was grinning from ear to ear. He literally tore her underwear from her body and through the shredded remnants across the room. He looked down at her half-naked form and almost laughed out loud. He was making his way through the Assassin females one by one. It was almost, too, good to be true.

Jill heard the sound of silk tearing and cringed. Those were her favorites. She could feel him pressing against her now. She closed her eyes and told herself it would be over soon.

Joey stood behind her, about to enter the promised land, when he suddenly remembered something he had once read about Jill inside of a bathroom stall. With that thought in his mind, he made the small adjustment in direction and plunged forward.

Jill screamed.

Emily fell out of her chair. She had been sleeping soundly at her desk when a woman's scream pulled her from her slumber. Slowly, her world started to come back into focus and she realized that she was on the floor. It was pitch black in her office – earlier she had closed all the blinds and turned off the lights. She had only planned on taking a short nap before getting back to work. With all of the recent controversy some papers were starting to back up.

She fumbled her way towards her door and opened it. A quick glance around the office revealed Jill's door wide open. She couldn't see what was happening inside, but judging by the sounds pouring out of there it seemed pretty obvious.

Curiosity got the best of Emily and she softly started to move out of her office to get a better angle. Part of her feared it was Ross. Watching him with a girl like Jill, or any girl for that matter, didn't seem like something that would make her particularly happy. Another part of her, however, hoped that it was, just so she could get a glimpse at all that he had to offer.

She stayed close to the wall and took five or six steps when Jill came into view. Emily was shocked by the sight of it. There was Jill, skirt hiked up and bent over her own desk, with none other than Joey Tribianni. Emily had expected it to be Ross, and if not him then definitely a client of some sort. Someone that would offer Jill something to gain. What could Joey possibly have?

Emily had seen enough, and as quietly as possible, she moved back into her office and shut the door. She didn't want to turn the light on. She was afraid that they would notice. So instead she walked back over to her chair and sat down.

Emily closed her eyes and tried her hardest to forget about everything that was happening in Jill's office. It was easier said than done.

Together, Chandler and Monica fell onto the bed. His lips hardly left hers, even as they made the trek from the living room to the bedroom. His hands roamed her body freely, taking her in. She was a beautiful woman, there was no doubt about that, and he wanted to see more of her.

Monica was reeling. Everything was happening so fast. Her feelings were so powerful. The world was spinning. She felt his hands tugging on her clothes and for some unknown reason that was enough to pull her back to reality. Before anything was removed, she pulled away from Chandler and quickly moved off of his bed. "I'm sorry, Chandler, I can't. This is wrong."

"Wrong?" He knew what she meant but at that point he no longer cared. He was at that level, that special guy level of arousal where morals cease to exist and all the matters is satisfying the urge to mate. "Come on, Monica, you're thinking about this too much."

"This is something that I've wanted for a long time, Chandler. But you're hurt and you're in a weird place right now and I don't want it to happen like this. That'll ruin it for me forever." Monica adjusted her clothes and did her best to catch her breath.

"Are you serious? We're really not going to do this?" His heart was racing and his blood was pumping. He was not okay with stopping.

Monica could tell how upset he was. She was afraid she might have blown it for good. "I'm sorry, Chandler, it's just that – "

"Get out." He was passed feeling guilty about the whole thing. Guilt would return once his needs were satisfied and memories of Susie crept back into his head. For now, he only felt anger.

She tried to calm him down. "Chandler –"

"Now." He pointed toward the door. "Out."

Pete Becker stared at the two bodies lying motionless in the alleyway. There were cops and flashing lights everywhere. The site of a double homicide was always chaos.

This whole Wall Street debacle was getting out of hand. Pressure would fall from the mayor to his superiors to him to get this whole thing cleaned up and closed as soon as possible. He knew he might have to reconsider his "Let Chandler do my work for me" plan. He was sure that it was still the easiest way, but it no longer seemed as if it would be the fastest.

Pete's train of thought was interrupted by a young cop named Dwight. "Excuse me, sir?"

"What is it, officer?" Pete turned to face him. He had with him a girl, and a very pretty one at that. She was a beautiful blonde teen with tears in her eyes.

"This girl says she was here having dinner with one of the victims. Richard Burke."

This got Pete's attention immediately. He pushed Dwight away and began to lead the girl away from the crime scene. He needed information and he didn't want to chance her getting a peek at something gruesome. "My name is Detective Pete Becker. What's yours?"

She looked up at him, her face still covered in fear. "Erica. My name is Erica."

Chandler had an idea. He knew it was a bad idea, a horrible idea even, maybe his worst idea ever, but at the moment he just didn't care. He tossed his keys to the valet attendant out front and entered the apartment building like a man on a mission.

He knew her apartment number by heart. He had been to her place a few times for some group parties and get-togethers. He had never been there by himself, and never for this. He stopped in front of her door and knocked on it loudly and quickly.

He paced impatiently in front of the door while he waited for her to answer.

Cassie and Rachel sat at the kitchen table in silence. Someone was at her door, again. And it was probably Joey, again. And she was going to have to pretend she wasn't home, again. Rachel leaned toward Cassie and whispered. "Go look the peep hole and see who it is."

Cassie did as she was told and walked toward the front door. As quietly as she could, she pressed her eye against the small hole in the door. She pulled away slowly and walked back toward Rachel with a confused look on her face. She whispered, "Its Chandler."

Rachel jumped out of her chair and practically ran to the front door. She yanked it open and found Chandler pacing back and forth in her hallway. "Chandler? Hi."

He didn't bother with greetings. He simply pushed his way into her apartment and pulled her body against his. He kissed her forcefully and kicked her door closed his foot. After a moment, he pulled away and finally spoke. "I need you."

Rachel didn't know what to say, so she simply muttered, "Okay." She grabbed him and pulled him in for another kiss.

Cassie watched the events unfold from the kitchen. The whole thing was a bit to shocking to see, but after the last few days, shocking behavior was almost expected. She grabbed her purse and tried to tip-toe her way passed the two of them. As she reached for the door handle, she grazed Chandler's arm enough to startle him.

He looked up quickly, "Cassie."

She stopped in her tracks, a bit embarrassed. She looked past Chandler to Rachel and flashed a congratulatory smile. Rachel was finally getting what she wanted and she was happy for her friend. "I was just leaving."

Chandler glanced back and forth between the two women for a moment before flashing a smirk and replying, "No, you weren't." He wrapped an arm around Cassie and pulled her to him. Before she could say anything his lips were on hers and all systems were a go.

Will sat alone in his apartment, contemplating his next move. He had to be careful. Once everyone found out about Richard and Susan everything would descend into full on panic mode. There would be watchful eyes everywhere. His every move would be detected and noted. Things were about to get very, very tricky.

For a moment he considered just leaving Phoebe alone. So far, thanks to the drugs they used, none of their victims had remembered anything. She probably wouldn't either, but it was still a risk. Phoebe was a loose end, and Will hated loose ends. Once she was gone, the secret would die with her and he could move forward with his a calm piece of mind.

He yawned and decided it was time for bed. There was nothing else he could accomplish with his night. Tomorrow, he would follow Phoebe and try to find the perfect time to strike. After that, it would all be over.

It was early morning, and judging by the faces of everyone in Room 469, there had been long nights all the way around. They had all been summoned, every single one of them, to meet with Detective Becker before opening bell. Things were falling apart quickly. There were even rumors that Paul Stevens would be forced to fly in and help clean up the mess.

No one spoke. The deaths of Richard and Susan were unexpected and a little too frightening for most of them to handle. Assassins were dying. Quickly. And any of them could be next. For the first time ever, those imaginary targets they all carried on their backs felt very, very real.

Pete Becker entered the room swiftly and with confidence. He took a moment to simply stare at them all. He wanted to send a message. He wasn't afraid of them. They were to be afraid of him. He would arrest all of them if he had to. "What I need from all of you right now is two minutes of uninterrupted silence. You don't need me to tell you what has happened. You already know. What you don't know, is that I'm going to solve this case very, very quickly. See, right now, all of you are tied for first on my list of suspects in these cases. But right now, I'm going to cut that list down considerably." Pete turned to yell for someone outside of the room. "Send her in."

Slowly, timidly, Erica stepped into Room 469. She kept her eyes locked on Pete. She was understandably terrified. "Everyone, this is Erica. She had dinner with Richard last night. As far as we know, she was the last person to have seen him alive. Except for whoever killed him of course." Pete turned away from the group and toward Erica. "Erica, I need you to do me a favor. Take a look around this room. Look at all of these people."

Pete turned his attention back to the group. His eyes darted from person to person. "Did you see any of these people at dinner last night?"

Erica scanned the crowd slowly. She looked from one to the other as carefully as possible, but none of them looked familiar.

Until, of course, her eyes fell upon Will. Erica gasped and took two steps back. She looked quickly at Pete and then back to Will. Pointing, she said, "Him. I saw him last night."


End file.
